


Crimson pink

by kxdlola120



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst, Fluff, M/M, Mentions of Blood, Romance, Smut, Vampires, but later, i don't want to spoil too much :), mentions of illness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-09-02 21:17:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16794904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kxdlola120/pseuds/kxdlola120
Summary: Jongin is sacrificed by his own town, in order to save it from extinction.But what he doesn't know is that he's caught the eye of the infamous vampire long before this.





	1. Ch.01

"Jongin, come down for breakfast!" 

"I'm coming!"

"Now!" 

Jongin huffs out at his reflection, gritting his teeth out of frustration, as the woman yells for him once again. It's too early for this, and he's already tired.

So without fixing his hair and that persistent lock hanging from his head, he storms down the stairs, meeting his mother on the way out. "Don't yell, Dae's still—"

What he tries to say, goes in one ear and ends on the floor, metaphorically, when his mother grabs at her things, already chewing at her early breakfast. It's probably some kind of low-fat cereal, or worse, and Jongin grimaces when she talks with her mouth open.

"I'll be late tonight. Breakfast is on the table."

He watches her go, without even saying goodbye or god forbid, a kiss goodbye for her oldest, and moves to lock the door behind her. She might be back, but not unless she's forgotten something, and quite honestly, Jongin doesn't want that. When he looks back, the house is empty, eerily quiet, and he's once again reminded of why he hates it. 

Easy on his feet, since his younger brother is still asleep, Jongin goes to the kitchen and that famous breakfast that she usually prepares, only to find that nothing's changed today either. There are two types of cereals on the table, both in boxes with a cartoon of milk next to it. The milk is almost expired when he takes it for a look, and he doesn't feel surprised. 

But what surprises him is that there are two notes on the fridge, written in his mother's neat handwriting. Jongin walks closer, and reads without taking them off. 

'I left some money for groceries.  
Buy more milk.'

'I'm going to a conference call for a couple of days in—' Jongin furrows his eyebrows at the name of the town ripped out from the side of the post-it, the line continuing underneath, '—so don't wait up.'

Jongin however rips both pieces from the fridge magnet, throwing it in the trash bin beneath the sink. If she doesn't care, he doesn't care either. 

Opting for preparing some edible breakfast, he's next to the oven in a minute, taking a couple of eggs and butter from the fridge, wanting to at least scramble up some omelet. It's Jongdae's favorite, and that little fellow is due to wake up in the next half an hour. 

So Jongin works fast, but efficient, preparing toast with the last night's bread, adding that to the mental grocery-list as well. When the toast is done, evenly baked on each side, he adds it to the pan after taking out the finished omelet, slicing up butter to coat the bread for a nice crisp finish. 

Just when he adds washed vegetables and fruits he finds in the bottom of the fridge, after placing everything down on the table, there is a door creaking somewhere above his head. Jongin smiles, jogging to the fridge to check whether they still have some juice from the last errand run. 

But instead, he finds an empty carton in the bin, and he opts for simple water with some lemon. Jongdae wouldn't mind either way. 

"Good morning, hyung." 

Jongin looks up to see a sleepy-eyed Jongdae walking in still in his pajama, and smiles lovingly. 

"What's for breakfast?" The younger asks, yawning in the middle of the sentence, gaping like a fish. 

"Come, sit down." 

Jongin pours him some water over a slice of lemon, pouring himself the same. There are already two plates ready at sides of the four-seats table, when Jongdae nods cutely, dragging his feet to the closest chair. 

"Hyung, can I get some ham as well?"

Jongin nods. "Of course. But I need to ask you to come with me later for some grocery shopping." He picks a couple of slices off the plate at the side, placing it on Jongdae's one instead.

"Mom didn't buy anything?"

Jongin stops at the chew, looking from Jongdae's eyes to his plate instead. "She asked me to do it instead."

"But you always do it..." And after that, Jongdae digs into his omelet.

They catch up with each other, like Jongin wasn't the one to put him to bed last night, letting Jongdae tell him about his dream from last night. 

"And there was this big truck, hyung! But not big like trucks you've seen. It was this huge!!" He stands up on the chair to push his hand in the air as much as his height allows him, showing Jongin just how big the truck really was. 

"Whoa," And his hyung plays along. "That big?!" Jongdae nods with starry eyes, jumping down from the chair. Jongin tries to feed him some leftover omelet, because once the kid starts talking, he's useless for other unfinished business. 

And they both have school in about hour and a half. 

"And there was this—" Jongdae's still explaining when Jongin scoops some toast with cucumber, feeding him. "This tree, hyung. It was huge."

"Bigger than the truck?"

"No, hyung." Jongdae laughs out loud, swallowing down more omelet, just as Jongin eats his last bite too. "Nothing is bigger than the truck!"

Jongin watches him go when he clears out the table, just before washing the dishes. He's still insisting on wearing his Thor pajamas, even though it's too short on him, barely covering the middle of his calves. The top part is considered a t-shirt with 3/4 sleeves by now, but Jongdae still loves it, naming the piece his favorite. 

So Jongin watches as the younger waves through the cracks in each pillar on the handrails, and shoos him to hurry up and change into his school uniform. 

In the meantime, he finishes the dishes, making sure to pick some money from the pile for groceries, and give Jongdae for cafeteria lunch later into the day. The boy has been bragging about their chicken tenders, so Jongin doesn't need to prepare him lunch, since it's Wednesday and he remembers they're serving chicken today. 

The love for chicken must be running in their family, because no matter how much he loves it, Jongdae loves it even more. 

So he goes upstairs too, walking to Jongdae's room just to peek if the boy's actually putting on clothes and not sleeping, like he's used to just go back to bed after breakfast, and finds him in the bathroom, diligently washing his teeth. 

He's just lost his front baby tooth in the middle of his upper jaw, and Jongin was the one to explain him where his tooth went, and how the rest of his teeth would go as well. When Jongdae cried about being toothless, Jongin had to google the teeth-chart for him, promising him that it's normal and that his permanent teeth would come in instead soon. 

Jongdae grins through the mirror when Jongin finds him, showing his full mouth of toothpaste foam, before he explains how he needs to wash the little slit where his tooth was, so a new, healthy one could grow in. 

Jongin has to laugh out loud at his innocence, nodding to his thoughts. If only his mother wasn't missing everything...

With that sour thought, he goes back to his own room, picking his high school uniform from the bed, as he changes into it quickly. He's been trying to learn how to iron properly, so the shirt isn't perfectly done, and even has some burned fabric under his arm, right at the pit, so he hopes it's not too visible. 

There's a code to follow within their school, and he doesn't need another report on misbehaving. So Jongin pulls his older blazer from the closet, putting it on in hope of covering the ironing mistake. He's ditched that thing two years ago when he realized it was too stuffy and made him sweat much more than usual. 

But the blazer in the color of his school covers the burned mark as well, and Jongin would have to suck it up for the day. 

He goes back to Jongdae's room, finding him on the bed, trying to tie up a little tie around his neck. Their uniforms have different ties in the colors of their school as well, but Jongdae hates to wear them. He explains how it chokes him whenever he laughs or talks, but still nods when Jongin asks if he needs any help in putting it on. 

He's been through it too, since Jongin's been in the same elementary school as well.

"It's red today." Jongin ties the knot when Jongdae asks to loosen it up a bit. 

"It is!"

"Why?"

"Because it's Valentine's day, hyung."

Jongin laughs out loud, making sure the tie is in place before he stands up from Jongdae's bed. "It's not today, silly. It's in two days."

"Two days?" Jongdae counts on his fingers, thinking hard. "But... Seohyun said it was today!"

"Well, Seohyun doesn't know how to count. Or read the calendar. And neither do you." Jongin picks him up, laughing when Jongdae whines, trashing to be put down. 

"Hyung! I'm big now! I don't need carries anymore!"

"You're a big boy, yes, but you're still my little one." Jongin kisses his cheeks, feigning being hurt when Jongdae wipes it off, and 'yuck's' out loud. 

When Jongin puts him down in the front door hall, Jongdae runs upstairs, missing when Jongin picks his shoes off the rack. 

"Dae?"

"I need to change the tie, hyung! It's not Valentine's day, yet!"

Jongin watches him go, running up the stairs, but eventually cracks a smile. Seven year-olds, and their antics. 

🧛🧛🧛

Eventually, they leave the house, taking Jongin's bike to school, with Jongdae riding behind him on the rear rack. The younger's school is along the way, quicker to reach, so Jongin parks in front of the building in about ten minutes, helping Jongdae in jumping down.

"Have a good day, and study a lot."

"Yes, hyung!" Jongdae says, nodding when Jongin asks for a hug, and then stands on tiptoes to reach him. "Don't forget to eat, hyung!"

"I put some money in your bag, buy chicken for lunch if you want. But don't spend it all, okay?" Jongin gets another hug when Jongdae jumps up and down, excited for today's lunch. 

"Do you have your inhaler?" 

Jongdae pulls the backpack from his back, checking in the front pocket. "Yes."

"Is it fully charged?"

"Yeeees~!" Jongdae nods again.

"My number is the first one on your contact list, right?" Jongin asks, checking if Jongdae's remembered to bring his phone with him today. It has happened before, that he's forgotten it at home, and Jongin was the one to go back and get it for him, because it was more than just for checking where the younger was at all times. 

Jongdae picks it from the same pocket, humming again. It's one of Jongin's old phones, actually, meant only for calling and messaging, but Jongdae knows how to work everything, often sending messages to Jongin about how his day is going. 

"Good." Jongin mouths the bike, kicking at the kickstand to stand on its own, and swerves around so he's facing the exit. "If anything happens, ask your teacher to let you out and call me immediately."

"Okay, hyung." Jongdae walks with him as Jongin rolls the bike slowly to the end of the lot, thinking what else to remind him of. 

"Don't forget about our grocery shopping later in the evening. I'm gonna pick you up after school."

"Can I buy anything I want?"

Jongin bites on his lower lip, knowing that their mother has left enough money for only necessities. But he still nods, cracking a smile. "But nothing too—"

But Jongdae starts running around him, whooping ideas left and right. "And I want to try that new flavor of chocolate—" He tries to calm down when Jongin pulls him by his shirt, but gets winded easily. 

"Hyung..." 

"Dae, I told you before, you can't do this to yourself."

Jongdae nods, trying to breathe deep and long, calming himself down, just as he was taught. Jongin's at his side, patting his back, watching for any change in his behavior. 

"Do you need your inhaler?"

"I'm good." Jongdae nods, taking a final deep breath when he calms down, even offering a thumb up to his brother. "It was nothing, hyung. I was just excited."

"Okay, go to class now. You don't want to be late."

"See you later, hyung!" Jongdae waves as he goes into the building, skipping his steps, but not running after what happened. Jongin watches him go, before mouthing his bike again, pedaling away. 

🧛🧛🧛

"Where are you, man?!"

Baekhyun yells in front of their school, standing with both hands cupping his mouth. Jongin sees him, or rather hears him even from the entrance gate, laughing when Baekhyun ignores the stares of the fellow peers, and yells again. 

"Kim Jongin, are you here!?"

"I'm here!" Jongin yells back, feeling ashamed when the attention shifts to him now, as he goes to the bike parking, slotting his front tire in the thin stand, bending down to lock the bike in place. 

"Oh, thank god! I thought I would have to meet Mr. Choi alone!" Baekhyun walks up to him, holding at his heart when Jongin glances at his best friend.

"Baek, you gotta stop yelling like that. Literally everybody in this building have heard you. Plus, we both have cellphones." He stands up to full height, pulling Baekhyun into the said building.

"Yeah, I don't care! I needed to find you."

Jongin snickers. "By yelling in front of the school? What if I wasn't coming in today and you were yelling for someone who didn't show up in the end?"

"But you did! And you wouldn't left me alone!"

"I could've been sick, though?"

"Don't jinx me!" Baekhyun dismiss it, walking to the stairs first, already changing the topic to the movie he's seen yesterday. 

"Oh, right. You were on a date?"

"More like tiredate." Baekhyun answers, walking through the classroom when they arrive at. Their first class is math, and Jongin can't wait to fall asleep after a minute of today's lecture. 

When they sit down in their respective seats next to the window, Baekhyun turns around, dropping down dramatically on top his desk. "He was so boring, man. The opening credits had more dimension than his personality."

"Didn't you say he was a college student?"

"He was. Well, is. But I thought they were smart and interesting, you know, a wild card to have in high school." He turns to look at his phone, seeing two missed calls from the said college student. 

"I mean, he was so tall and handsome, and his hands were this big!" Baekhyun yells on purpose for their whole classroom to hear, trying to catch attention of his ex sitting three rows in the back, but when Jongin looks back, the poor boy is still sleepy, practically drooling over his math books. 

"But he's so boring!" Baekhyun finishes dramatically, leaning his head back to the windows, thumping at the glass from the impact. 

"So, would you see him again?"

Baekhyun only groans. 

"I would wish more to get back with Ji Soo, than to hear him talking about War of stars ever again!"

"I think he meant Star Wars, Baek." Jongin snickers when their teacher walks in, immediately cutting off the rest of the talk. But Baekhyun still pretends to pull out his books from the messenger bag he has on the floor, whispering back. 

"You and Dae are coming tonight for a sleepover, right?"

Jongin's completely forgot about it, as he curses loud enough for Baekhyun to hear. "I'm sorry, I totally forgot. And we're going on a grocery shopping after school."

"Yeah, yeah, I don't matter, your very own best friend!" Baekhyun turns back to the blackboard when the teacher calls his name for talking. But he still throws words over his shoulder, contradicting their teacher just because he can. 

"Then come tomorrow. I haven't seen that little cutie in so long!"

"You love Dae more than me!"

"Well, duh! He's adorable." 

"Byun! Kim!"

At that, both straighten their backs, yelling in unison. "Sorry, Mr. Choi!"

🧛🧛🧛

"Do you want anything else?" 

Jongdae stops when he does, looking up to his big brother. "Um... I don't know. What does hyung want?"

Jongin giggles, pushing the cart further down the isle. "I don't want anything. I'm asking you."

Jongdae's at his side, holding onto the half-full cart, with his backpack in it as well. It's filled with some of the books he needs for a studying later, and that's why he's bringing them home instead of leaving them in his locker. 

"I already bought chocolate, and those little circles—"

Jongin hums, looking down to the cart that has more of Jongdae's splurges, than their food for the next couple of days. Their toiletries can wait till the next errand run, he concludes. 

They pass a part of the frozen section, and Jongin stops to check if he'd rather buy some frozen meat instead, while Jongdae rummages through the cart. "I'm gonna give these back."

Jongin looks to the side where Jongdae holds a pack of gummy bears, contemplating what to do with it. "Why?" He asks, when Jongdae shrugs.

"So that hyung can buy something too."

Jongin places the fresh meat closer to the edge of the cart, having seconds thoughts about it, and instead picks some frozen one since it could last a lot longer. 

"You don't have to. I like those too,"

Jongdae laughs all of a sudden, dropping the bag back into the cart. "Okay, then we can share!"

The rest of their shopping night ends with ease, with Jongdae even offering to carry some of the bags from Jongin's hands. Their trip home is a quick one, since Jongin uses the front basket for the groceries, and Jongdae holds on tight when he pedals down the street.

When they Jongin locks the front door upon entering, Jongdae is quick to go upstairs and wash up. He yells from the second floor how he's been playing in the sand for the school break, and how Jongin has to wait for him for preparing the dinner. 

"I'm just entering the kitchen."

"Nooo!" 

Jongin laughs when he hears the water running, before stomps echo around the house when Jongdae runs downstairs, almost toppling over from running too fast.

When he barges into the kitchen, he's winded. "I'm.. here…"

"I told you not to run, Dae. It's not good for you." Jongin asks for his help in taking care of the groceries too, and Jongdae nods as he fills up their fridge. 

The younger knows where everything is, and goes back to sit on the island when Jongin stars making dinner. "Chicken, hyung!" Jongdae says loud, but Jongin dismisses the thought when he asks if he's eaten it already for lunch. When Jongdae nods solemnly, Jongin pats his head.

"Okay, then I'm choosing for tonight."

Jongdae pouts. "Fine."

Jongin looks ever so often over his shoulder, monitoring what Jongdae does, when the younger goes for his backpack, taking his homework out. 

"If you need any help with that, call me."

"Yes, hyung!"

When the dinner is done, nothing too fancy and with just enough ingredients they have in the fridge, Jongin calls for Jongdae to clear out the table, just in time for the younger to finish and smile in success. 

"This year's homework isn't hard.." He comments while Jongin helps him in setting the plates and cutlery, before bringing two glasses for some apple juice that Jongin has bought earlier. 

"You're just starting. It might get tougher later," Jongin pours each plate with food, and stops when Jongdae drops the subject all of a sudden. He cranes his neck on each side, looking past the kitchen into the living room and a little hall at the front.

"Dae, is something wrong?"

"Where's mom?"

Jongin swallows down, finishing with pouring the rest of the dinner in his plate too, before taking a fork closer to his side. "She's at work. Might not come back tonight."

Jongdae nods, looking between both of Jongin's eyes, before taking a fork too. He stabs a piece of meat with it, chewing on the edge. When Jongin looks back at him, he's suddenly quiet. 

"Dae?"

"I haven't seen her in two days."

Jongin does not feel like eating anymore. He tries, like he always does, to reason their busy mother, but just as he tries, Jongdae surprises him. 

"You know she works because she needs to—"

"I don't miss her."

Jongin stops, raising his eyebrows. "What?"

"I don't miss her." Jongdae shrugs. "I just asked where she was."

"Jongdae, she needs to work, for us, for this—"

"We don't have a dad, right, hyung?"

Jongin's cut off once again, when he drops the fork to the plate. "Dae.. I.."

"And now we don't have a mom either."

"Dae?"

"I only have you hyung, right?" 

And it's not malicious, and it doesn't come from a place of anger, Jongin knows it. But it still hurts to hear it. Jongdae might be young, but he still understands things. So he drops down on his knees next to Jongdae's chair, and pulls him in a hug. 

"You'll always have me, Dae."

Jongdae hugs him back, leaving a small kiss at his cheek when he pulls away. "Then I'm happy, because I have my Nini hyung!" 

🧛🧛🧛

"Boss?"

The velvet chair turns around, showcasing a shorter male in it, sitting down with crossed legs. 

"Yes?"

"The press is asking about you."

The tall chair twists back to the window, as the man shields himself away from the servant. He looks through the fogged window, taking in his backyard. For a moment there, he's thinking about having some company in his spacious garden, but drifts his thoughts to something else.

"Boss? Should I tell them to leave you alone?"

"No, Yeol." The chair's back in place, when the man stands up from it, going around his study desk. "I think it's time for a little visit."

🧛🧛🧛

"Hey, do you want butter popcorn or caramel?"

"Ewww, hyung! Caramel!"

Jongin looks up when he hears the door to Baekhyun's room being opened, as his brother and best friend walk in, carrying two large bowls of freshly made popcorn. 

"What? It's my favorite!" Baekhyun defends his bowl of popcorn, handing the second one to Jongin who thanks him and follows Jongdae to little sofa in the corner of Baekhyun's room. 

"That's—" Jongdae ends with a fake barfing sound, laughing when Baekhyun pounces on him, tickling his sides. 

"Take that back, you rascal. Take it back!"

Jongin's pushed off the sofa in the tickle war when Jongdae flails both hands and legs in the air, laughing his head off. And he doesn't mind because Jongdae hasn't seem this happy in so long. But after all, he needs to be the big brother once again. 

"Hey, stop it you two. We don't have enough medication for this."

On that, both of them stop mid-laugh, and even though Jongin doesn't mean anything bad with it, and actually says it in good manner, both Jongdae and Baekhyun move from each other without another word.

"Hey, I don't want to be the party-pooper—"

"No, you're right." Baekhyun sits down next to Jongdae, as Jongin takes the other half, sandwiching Jongdae in the middle. "I'm sorry, Dae, I sometimes don't think."

Jongdae takes a big gulp of air, coughing a bit, before turning to his second favorite hyung. "It's fine, hyung. I'm fine." Then he turns to Jongin, buffing out his chest. "See, hyung. I'm fine."

Jongin nods at that, sharing a look with Baekhyun over the younger's head, when their movie rolls on Baekhyun's TV, and the rest is left unsaid. 

Somewhere along the second movie for the night, and both bowls of popcorn now being empty, Jongdae snuggles into Jongin's side, fast asleep. 

Baekhyun asks to take him to bed, but Jongin protests, knowing that if they were to wake him up, they wouldn't have any rest for the rest of the night. 

"Give him at least half an hour. Then he'd be in a deep slumber." 

Baekhyun only nods. 

"You know.. There's this festival in town tomorrow."

"On Valentine's day?"

Baekhyun nods again. Their movie is not forgotten as both still watch it, but the volume is lowered down almost all the way, and that leaves enough space for talking. 

"Are you going?"

"I think Dae would want to go too. He was talking about Valentine's just yesterday. Something about cotton candy," Jongin snickers.

"Then I want to join you two. They said there's some special program prepared for this year. Wonder what that means."

Jongin shrugs, looking back at the TV. "Maybe some mascot?"

"They did mascot two years ago."

"Oh, right."

They fall into silence, before some particular scene reminds Jongin of the conversation he's had with Jongdae last night. So he turns to Baekhyun again, pulling Jongdae more to sleep on his lap, so his neck doesn't ache. 

"Dae.. He said something last night. About her."

Baekhyun places the empty bowl down to the carpet, sitting on his leg next. "Your mom?" Jongin only nods.

"He asked me where she was, and when I told him, he said 'we don't have a mom either'."

Baekhyun opens his eyes in the same manner with his eyebrows raising, looking down to the sleeping boy. "He did? Really?"

"He knows about our dad somewhat, but not all, you know.. since the story is—"

"Gore, yeah."

"But he's never..." Jongin shakes his head, not knowing how to put it into words. Jongdae's never been vocal about their mother and her work, but Jongin feels like the thought has been on the boy's mind for a while now. 

"What did you tell him?"

But Jongin lowers his head. "... Nothing." And he feels bad about it.

"Good."

"Baek?"

"It's not your job to be a parent to him, Jong." Baekhyun pats Jongdae on the head, feeling sorry for both of them. "I've already told you that, but you can't be there for him when your mother doesn't want to."

"She wants to, she does, just—"

"She's a selfish bitch—"

"Baek!"

Jongdae stirs on that, but only grumbles before continuing with sleep. 

"I'm sorry, Jong. It's not on me to say it, but..." And Jongin has to agree. They've been over this too many times before. It's always been the same, after all, for as long as Jongin could remember. Even before Jongdae came along. They were friends from kindergarten even, and yet Baekhyun knows it all, like he's been through it all instead. 

So that's why Jongin trusts him with his life. 

"I think we need a big change, you know." Jongin finishes, looking down to his younger brother who's cute even when sleeping. 

Baekhyun nods, helping him in taking Jongdae to their bed for the night. When they tuck him underneath the thick duvet, Jongin goes to turn off the lights and the TV with rolling credits, laying next to him. 

Baekhyun's in the bed next to them, taking an extra blanket for himself when he remembers something. 

"I've heard the town is preparing some surprise for this Valentine's festival."

Jongin hums. "It's probably just some recycled mascot."

"Yeah, but painted in pink, or something tacky like that..." There's a moment of silence shared in some stifled laugh between friends, when Jongin looks up to the ceiling, thinking about everything and nothing. Before Baekhyun sighs out loudly, finishing his thought out loud. "I wish I wasn't single this Valentine's too."

Jongin snickers softly, turning to Baekhyun's side. "Welcome to the club."

🧛🧛🧛

There's a small knock on his bedroom door, coming from the outside. Kyungsoo looks up to the sound, listening to any shifts or voices, hearing someone's heartbeat instead. It's beating normally, on a verge of stopping even, like it's dying down, but he knows it's a common thing for his servant. 

So he calls him in, waiting until Chanyeol twists the doorknob in his thin fingers, creaking it open. "Sir, it's time."

"I told you not to call me that." Kyungsoo checks his reflection in the mirror, not feeling sad anymore about not seeing anything in the glass, and drags his hand over the sides of his black hair. He knows he looks good. "Is my car ready?"

"I thought you'd like to go by your carriage."

Kyungsoo takes his coat off the hanger, tucking it under his arm. "Yeol, this is 21st century. There are no carriages anymore."

Chanyeol furrows both eyebrows in the middle of his mealy face, gripping at the door when Kyungsoo walks out. "It's been too long for us, Sir."

"Where is Minseok? Is he still asleep?"

Chanyeol nods. "Yes, he is, Sir. I've checked upon him just before coming to you." 

Kyungsoo smiles, walking down more softly.

"It's been too long for us, Sir. I haven't driven a car in so long.." Chanyeol comments offhandedly.

"Yes it has. But!"

Chanyeol walks behind him when he descends down the stairs, watching while Kyungsoo fixes the lapel of his suit jacket. "But?"

"We're about to change that!"

"Sir?"

Kyungsoo smiles in the nonexistent reflection in the foyer mirror too, getting the help from his servant in putting his long, covert coat on. It's in his favorite midnight black color, and Kyungsoo uses the pocket-square to add some shine on his family's broach that is pined to his left breast-pocket. When he steps into the light, the day just peering through the clouds, his brogues are light on the concrete as Chanyeol goes to the back for one of his cars. 

"Sir!" The servant is quick on his long limbs, getting out of the slick car to open the door for him, but Kyungsoo stops him just before bending down to enter. 

"Yeol, do you know the way to the town?"

"Seoul?" Chanyeol asks as Kyungsoo takes a look at his wrist watch, making sure they have enough time on their hand for the trip. When Chanyeol closes the door and walks back to sit down in the driver's seat, Kyungsoo finally says. 

"No. We're going somewhere else this time. Somewhere warmer."

🧛🧛🧛

"Are you hungry?" Jongin asks from the threshold of his room, watching as Jongdae run to the bathroom to brush his teeth. 

"'Not, hyung!"

"It's I am not, Dae." He goes back to change his pants too, already getting numerous calls from Baekhyun on why are they being late. Once he's ready, wearing his favorite cologne, Jongin goes to knock on Jongdae's room, hurrying him up.

But apparently, the boy's already downstairs, yelling for his hyung to hurry up.

"I'm here, I'm here!"

"Are we taking the bike?"

Jongin locks up the door, taking Jongdae's hand when the boy starts squirming too much. "No, we're meeting with Baekhyun on the next corner, so we're walking."

Jongdae doesn't mind, as he goes on to naming things he wants to try in the festival, which rides he wants to ride, and all the cotton candy he wants to eat. 

Jongin laughs, listening to his demands, remembering that he was the same when he was Jongdae's age. 

When they round the corner, Baekhyun's already there, waiting for them with a slight scowl on his face. Jongin waves when his best friend sees them, and lets Jongdae run away to meet him first. 

"Oh, I can't wait for the rides! And the candy!"

"Me too, hyung!"

They spend the walk in the same talk but with Baekhyun too this time, and Jongin hopes the rides aren't too expensive, because he doesn't have that much money on him. His biology book for the next semester can wait until then, he guesses. 

Jongdae pulls them to different colorful stands when they arrive, pointing fingers to everything he wishes his hyungs to see too, or all the stuffed animals he wishes to win. Jongin pays the vendor when Jongdae asks for a Thor action figure in one of the stands, which turns out to be up for winning. 

The game is simple - shoot your target and if you nick the wooden even a bit, you can pick a toy based on the shot. 

Jongin takes the little toy gun from the vendor, aiming at the target when both Baekhyun and Jongdae cheer from the side. When he feels the trigger under his finger, he closes one eye, pulling at it with his forefinger. He hits the target bullseye, and even the vendor starts whooping and congratulating. 

"Nice one, son. You can pick from the top shelf."

"Hyung! Hyung!" Jongdae pulls at his sleeve, pointing a finger to the dream toy. 

"Thor figure, please."

The three of them walk further down the path of the festival, following a mass of people and their way to the main stage visible even from here. 

"What's up with that?" Jongin asks Baekhyun, turning to see more people walking around to see for themselves. Jongdae is still holding his hand, too short to see the stage himself, but he still points at the lights on top of the stage, as the hue goes from green to red.

The color of the stage changes back into blue and orange, and Baekhyun shrugs. "I don't know.. The leaflet doesn't say anything about any performances taking place." And he checks the colorful flyer in his hand, turning to each page, but only finds different stands and activities around the festival, as well as their respective descriptions. 

They stop to stand to the side, where the crowd isn't that dense, so Jongdae doesn't get squished between too many people. Just as they turn to watch what's happening, there's a tall man approaching, giving each a little ticket with a number on it Before they could ask about it, he's gone. 

"What is this, hyung?" Jongin turns to Jongdae to see his ticket, seeing number 21 in black cursive written on each side. 

"I don't know, Dae.." He turns his own in his hands, seeing a similar number written, but his being 88 instead. 

Baekhyun has one too, with 04 written as well, and when they turn to see other people and their tickets, some loud voice comes from the speakers. 

"Welcome, welcome..." There's a man on the stage, walking tall and proud, and Jongin recognize him as the mayor of their town. The man has a microphone in his hand as the crowd cheers. 

"It's so good to see you in this number. Welcome, my fellow citizens." The crowd yells for his introduction as well, when the man tells his name, and bows down out of respect. 

"Welcome to this year's Festival of Good Will. I'm happy to announce that this year has so many new visitors, that the city's had to print a lot more invitations."

Jongin turns to Baekhyun on that, asking whether he has their invitations, because he doesn't remember getting any. 

But Baekhyun looks equally confused, when he looks around, finding none of the surprises written on their neighbors' faces as well. "I don't get it—"

"I would let you go back to all the activities we have prepared for you this year too, but first..." There are drums along the crowd, coming from speakers, like announcing something big, and Jongin grabs at Jongdae's hand tighter. 

"What you all came here for!"

The crowd cheers once again when two men push a big glass orb of sort from the back of the stage, hundredths of little balls tumbling inside it. They stop at the edge of the stage where their mayor is still talking, as the glass ball stops as well.

"This year's grand prize is a surprise left for later, but first we need to pull out our lucky winner." The mayor stands next to the glass ball on its carrier, and Jongin finally sees a lever that the mayor pulls, and rolls the balls when the orb starts spinning. 

"And the winner is...." There's only a thumping of balls heard in the crowd, before their mayor pushes his hand in the slot on the side, pulling out one single ball with a number on it. "Congratulations, number 88, you're our lucky winner today!"

The crowd cheers once again when Jongin looks down to his ticket, seeing exact numbers written on it. "Baek!" He shows it to both of them, when the crowd searches for the man in mass, and Jongin's hand shoots up.

"Ah, come to the stage for your prize!"

Jongdae jumps for him, urging him to go up the stage, when even Baekhyun starts clapping, congratulating. "Go, Ji. See what it is about."

Jongin walks through the mass of people who all pat him on the back, whooping for his success. He's never felt like this, and he's never won anything either. But it feels good when he stands on the stage in front of his whole town, bowing down out of respect. 

"Thank you! Thank you!" He waves even when the crowd doesn't stop with clapping and turns to the mayor when the man pats his back as well.

"Tell us your name, son."

"Kim Jongin, Sir."

The mayor nods, turning to the crowd. "Kim Jongin, everyone!"

That earns even more claps and whooping, and Jongin feels as if he's won a million bucks. 

"Jongin, you can go backstage for your prize!"

Two men from before usher him to the back where there's a curtain hiding the crowd from his eyes as he goes, and he wants to ask whether he can invite his younger brother as well, but the men don't say anything and push him down the back stairs. 

"Wait.." He looks back at the festival where the whole town still is, and turns to look at nothing but the parking lot in front. "Hey, where are you—"

But they push him to the black car parked in the furthest corner of the lot, and Jongin feels the dread coming up in waves. This isn't good. This isn't good, at all!

His brain is screaming for him to run, because they must not know about him winning some big prize, that certainly doesn't mean getting kidnapped. But they both hold his arms, and even when Jongin trashes to be let go, they hold him stern, basically pulling him to the car still.

"My brother! I have a younger brother, and he's back there— Hey!" Jongin crouches down when the men don't speak at all, and tries again to run away. "Where are you taking me!? I didn't do anything wrong! Let me go!"

But his attempts are in vain, because the back door of the slick car opens up just in time for men to push him inside. He gets the same door in his face in the next second, and when he tries the handle, it's locked. 

"Hey!" He bangs on the glass, not seeing anything else but the back of the stage, and tries the opposite door. "Let me out! I didn't do anything! What are you doing to me!"

Just then, he remembers his phone at the back of his jeans, so he reaches for it, but doesn't find anything. In panic, because this seems so like kidnapping that he doesn't find any of this funny, he tries each pocket, finding nothing as well. 

"Dae…" He yells, calling for his best friend as well, when someone clears throat in front. 

Jongin looks before him, finding a much bigger space than just a mere backseat of the car, and finds two seats across from his as well. But what surprises him is that he's not alone in the car, as he's assumed before, and a rather serious man is sitting across. 

"What.." Jongin feels like fainting, feeling his heart beating out of his ribcage when the man knocks on the window behind his head, and the car starts. "No! Please! Let me out! Please!"

But the man checks his cuffs, both of them, as if Jongin isn't having a mental breakdown just before him. 

"I have a younger brother and he needs me, please!"

"Jongdae, right?"

The man's voice is deep, rich tone of bass, and Jongin's heart stops at the assumption that he knows about Jongdae as well. 

"Please- Don't hurt him! I'll do anything, just... Please. I'm begging you." He starts trembling when they pull out of the parking lot, as he looks back to the lot where the festival is still happening, and the car doesn't stop moving. 

"What do you want, please..."

The man blinks at him, when the corner of his lip starts moving up. He seems to be smirking at him, and Jongin feels like a brick has hit him on the head. 

"Nice to finally meet you, Kim Jongin. I'm Do—"

But Jongin doesn't hear anything after that, collapsing right there. 

🧛🧛🧛🧛🧛


	2. Ch.02

The crowd still cheers, as their Mayor goes back to greet the band that's playing here tonight. Baekhyun looks down to Jongdae who cradles his new toy fondly, looking at the stage with a soft smile as well. 

When the Mayor goes back to the edge of the stage, nobody mentions Jongin and his grand prize. And something doesn't add up.

Baekhyun looks around the space, not finding a familiar face in the mass, and his distrust switches to Jongdae too. 

"Hyung?" Jongdae pulls at his hand to gather his attention, an easy smile slipping down his lips. "Where's my hyung?"

Baekhyun checks his phone, seeing nothing new from Jongin on it, and grabs Jongdae's hand better.

"Let's go find him."

He tries to be easygoing with Jongdae, knowing that the boy could cause a scene if he realizes something's wrong, so Baekhyun walks through the throngs of people, not letting go of the smaller hand. Even when Jongdae tries to keep up with him, Baekhyun doesn't seem to notice, stopping only when they reach the side of the stage. 

There are some people standing around it, with bold titles hanging from their necks. He checks the first one on a big, gruff guy, finding SECURITY written on it. So he approaches. 

"Um.. Excuse me? Where did the prize winner go?"

The gruff man only stops to look down at both of them, before blinking out of need, and looking ahead of himself once again. 

This act surprises Baekhyun, because how could anybody be that rude and unapproachable. So he pulls at Jongdae to stand more behind him, and asks again. This time, he raises his voice.

"Hey, I just asked you something. Can you point me in his direction?"

This time, the man doesn't even acknowledge his existence. Baekhyun actually feels the dread filling him up, but stays poised for Jongdae's sake. He needs to find out what happened to his best friend, and where Jongin was really taken.

"Is something wrong with you?!" He moves to jab a finger in the man's bicep, but gets pushed away when somebody else takes his hand away. Jongdae gasps when an even bigger guy comes to their sides, pushing into Baekhyun's space. 

"Who are you?" 

Baekhyun gulps when the man looks right into his eyes, before lowering his eyes to where Jongdae's hiding, staying silent as ever. 

But he's not done yet. Jongin's still missing. So Baekhyun collects all the braveness he has, with a dash of cockiness, and stands his ground. 

"What is happening here? Where did Jongin go?" The name slips out and even Jongdae holds on tighter when the guy mulls it over. 

"Jongin?"

"The prize winner!"

The guy suddenly chuckles, looking back over his shoulder where the first guy from before still stands, rooted to the ground. But he's listening now, for a change, and both of them share a laugh. 

"Could you believe... He didn't get the memo."

Baekhyun breaks their laughter, asking. "Memo? About what?"

"Your friend is not coming back."

Baekhyun has to physically push Jongdae back when the boy gets courageous, pushing to the front. "What?! Where is my hyung?!"

The bigger guy scoffs at their demeanor, like showing that his job isn't informatory, but still leans down to breathe down in Jongdae's space. "Your brother was sold."

"Sold?! What the fuck?!" Baekhyun looks around, realizing that all of this must be a big joke being played, and he waits for Jongin to jump out from somewhere, laughing his ass off. But that doesn't happen, as the security pushes him out, back into the crowd.

"Hey! Let me go!" Baekhyun trashes, still holding Jongdae's hand like a lifeline, as they get thrust back into the mass. 

Just when he goes back in, trying to get more information from the men, their Mayor comes back to the stage, capturing the town's attention. 

"Hyung!" When Baekhyun gets pulled down, Jongdae's eyes are watering, on a verge of crying. And he feels bad for the younger, because he knows how much Jongin means to him. He's all the younger has, after all. And all of this must not be funny to him at all. 

But just as he hugs Jongdae closer, looking around the mass of his fellow citizens, the Mayor grabs the mic from the stand, shushing down the clapping. 

"Another successful festival is behind us." That earns him another boisterous applause, minus the two frozen figures, waiting for the explanation. They really didn't get the memo, Baekhyun realizes, when the Mayor chuckles into the mic, turning to look at the sky instead.

"Our ancestors would be proud of the town we are still being and slowly becoming. When I stepped on this position ten years ago, the stories of the last sale were all that I've heard." Baekhyun's skin crawls when he realizes there's something sinister going on. 

"The last Mayor of this town wasn't so lucky to be rewarded with a sale of his own, but I got that honor today, as our lucky winner was a young man that I'm sure will be a great servant for Lord Do."

The crowd cheers again, and Baekhyun looks down to Jongdae. Even with his tender age, the boy understands bits, and asks who Lord Do is. 

"We can be rest assured for our crops to be successful this year too. And the year after that. And the years that are to come. Along with out agriculture, tourism and wellbeing of our town." The Mayor raises some kind of object in his hand, but Baekhyun's eyes are too watery to focus. 

When he looks around the people standing on each side of him, he realizes that nobody minds what's happening. Everybody's happy with the outcome, as every little face in the crowd watches with pride swimming in their hollow eyes, and for the first time in his life, Baekhyun questions if they're even people. 

If Jongin's really being sold to this Lord Do, then nothing like human trafficking could ever be praised, celebrated even and there's something seriously wrong with their town. But he doesn't get to think that longer, because the Mayor lowers his hand enough for something red to spill down the stage, the crowd roaring when he finishes. 

"I spill this blood for this town, for our people. Here's to another hundredth years! Cheers!"

🧛🧛🧛

There are hands coming to his face first. He tries to duck down, but the hands are persistent, coming to grab at his face quicker this time, as sharp nails rake his cheeks, making him throb. He trashes to run away but the ground swallows him up more each time, as he accepts his destiny for now. His body feels heavy when he stops, allowing more and more hands to come and to cradle his face, some picking at his eyes, some swallowing themselves down his throat when he opens his mouth. 

With a scream, Jongin wakes up, feeling his heart throbbing in his whole being, every nerve of his muscles trembling with fear. The feeling doesn't go away when he looks around the unfamiliar room, as it piles up more with each breath he tries to take. 

"W-What?!" His lips are cotton, his system still not fully awakened from the nightmare, as he tries to scream for help, the first thought of Jongdae clouding his mind. 

"Dae… Dae…." He climbs down the bed he's laying on, not registering that he's not wearing his clothes, or breathing the stiff air of his own bedroom, as he wills his legs to move. 

But he's in a daze still, feeling like sinking down to the plush carpet to get swallowed up, and Jongin gets scared out of his skin when he thinks about the carpeting doing so. 

He still tries, dropping down to his knees instead, pushing his body to move. But everything feels like it's on fire, like every muscle screaming for him to stop moving, and Jongin crawls to the door, screaming his brother's name. 

The door creaks open when he reaches for the knob, but his knees don't get him far out of the room, because there are footsteps coming closer with each heartbeat. Jongin feels like fainting again, losing his breath when he sees them in his peripheral vision, two feet clad in black boots stopping just at the side.

"Mr Kim, you're awake!"

Jongin screams for the man to let him go, crawling further down the long hallway, but the man thinks differently. Because he tries to pull him up by his shoulders, touching him through a thick sleep shirt. 

"No! Let me go!"

His nerves are on fire, as his legs finally let him go completely, spilling him over the burgundy carpet beneath his knees. The carpet doesn't have a taste when he drops face first, groaning when the man moves away, running from him.

"Jongdae… Dae…" He's delirious, Jongin knows, because in the next moment his head throbs, obviously painful as he tries to turn around, dropping down on his back instead. 

His vision swims in different colors painting the ceiling, and he's not even certain the ceiling is what he's seeing, because it seems so tall—taller than normal, but he doesn't care about that. Not when his eyes blink heavily, a single tear sliding down from his eye when his lids kiss in the middle.

Something heavy sticks to the back of his throat, and Jongin has never felt worse. 

Feet rush in on different sides, heavy boots thumping along the carpet he's laying on, only adding up to the mess of his nerves in his head. It's heavy when he tries to look to the side, but his lids naturally close. 

Just like his nightmare, hands come from above, cradling his face, moving his hair, playing with his clothes. But the pain of the dull nails doesn't come, as he opens his eyes, seeing faces losing their grimaces, slowly masking in different, irregular shapes and sizes. 

He thinks he's floating in one moment, before his head gets pushed to something softer than the burgundy carpet of the hallway, as the hands leave him to be. His head lolls to the side when there's something wet and cold pressed to his cheek, wiping softly at the heated skin. 

"Dae…"

"Sleep!"

Jongin closes eyes again, too tired to speak, too gone to care. 

The next time he opens his eyes, his lids don't threaten to drop again. Jongin looks to the side where there's no harsh light coming through wide windows, and for the first time in as long as he could remember, he lets himself go.

There's wetness under his eyes when he presses fingers underneath, feeling the stickiness even before registering he's crying. Something heavy and prickly lodges behind his throat when he whimpers, but Jongin doesn't bite it down. 

He lets it out, screaming when the world gets too much, wondering how much more he could take. Or maybe how much longer he'll lie to himself, wondering when his brain would finally register that he's not tough as he makes himself to be; that he's broken, always been broken.

Just when he peers over the edge of the bed, the door opens up from the other side, alarming his haywire brain. He's not ready to die. Not like this, and not without seeing Jongdae one last time. 

But the tall man at the door seems alarmed only for a second, before he bows down out of respect. Jongin puzzles.

"Sir, Lord Do asked for your wellbeing."

Jongin swallows the tears that are coming like river over the breached dam, and looks over the rest of the room. Everything seems expensive, dark and old. Like ancient old. Jongin looks back at the man at the door, still in his humble half-bow.

"What?"

The taller stands upright again, dropping the doorknob out of his reach. "Would you wish to tell him yourself, then."

His head throbs at the sides, and Jongin has to lay back down, slowly blinking up to the... canopies? hanging from the constructions around the bed. 

But he doesn't get to dwell longer on it when the taller man excuses himself, closing the door behind him. Jongin huffs out when he looks at the spot he was standing in just moment ago, and think how this couldn't be the way he used to think he'd go when his time is up. 

Just as he closes his eyes, trying to stop his temples from hurting, the door opens up again, but this time two men get in instead. They both bow down like the previous one did, and move to his bed, stripping the covers off his body. 

"Hey!" Jongin pauses when they go to different sides, not leaving the room. He tries to look at both, suddenly aware of not knowing what is going on, when the shorter moves to his sides again, draping a long bathrobe of sort. It's soft when it hits Jongin's cheek accidentally, as the man sees it himself too. 

"I'm so sorry, my Sir! It was on accident!" He bows again, like being burned from hurting him, and Jongin pushes himself off the bed, swatting a hand in his direction. 

"I'm fine. It's fine."

Just as his feet drop down on the soft carpet he's thought it was swallowing people, the other one gets out from the other side of the room, closing another door, Jongin hasn't even registered before. 

He carries something heavy in his hands, but stops at Jongin's sides when the first one pushes fuzzy slippers for him to step in. 

"What are you...?"

He gets cut off when a man to his left pushes his head down, thrusting something warm into his mouth. "Drink this, Sir. It's an order!"

Jongin splutters when the metal clings at his teeth, stabbing his gums a bit. But he swallows down the stickily sweet substance, wiping at his lips just when the taller brushes a silk handkerchief across his face. 

"Come with us, Sir." 

He's on his feet in the next second, not completely willingly, because the thought of getting killed still lingers in the back of his head, but still readily enough to follow them through. Their steps are soft along the carpets, even with thick boots cradling both pair of legs, such contrast to his soft slippers. 

Jongin looks around when they go through halls, never ending burgundy carpets that reach just beneath the thresholds of different dark doors they pass with every couple of steps. He briefly wonders if there's more prisoners held captive behind each closed door, having been through same nightmares and sweet poisons that is in his system at the moment, but shuts up instead when they turn to another hallway just then. 

He wasn't wrong when it came to long hallways, and tall ceilings. The top of each hallway is so far away when he cranes his head, that he wonders if this was an old factory, painted in dark saturated shades, serving as a prison of sort. 

Each wall is covered with something as well. If it wasn't yet another door, then a tall painting in natural colors hangs proud and somewhat eerie, looking down upon him. Jongin tries to look long enough to memorize faces that are painted on variously shaped canvases, but he's forgotten about the previous lips and eyes, along with hairs and slopes of noses, when he goes further down to meet more different shapes and sizes of ancient faces. 

The men stop just at the end of the hallway, and Jongin has lost count of how many they've been through. But when they turn around to bow once again, leaving him be, Jongin looks after them, suddenly more confused than before. 

When he looks further down the hall, he sees sharp but steady stairs going down to darkness, and gulps, knowing that this is his end. 

He doesn't want to go down like this. Not now. But somebody scares him out of his skin when a hand brushes past his robe, holding it on the edge of the train dragging behind him. 

"Lord Do is waiting for you."

Jongin looks behind, finding the tallest of the men he's encountered here, the first one to wake him up. His eyes are somewhat dull, but more comforting that the ones that brought him here, and Jongin feels safe. But only for a moment.   
  
"Lord Do? Is he the one killing me?"

"Lord Do would never hurt you, Sir."

Jongin doubts it, but doesn't have much to say when the taller pushes him down the stairs, closing the door behind him when Jongin passes the threshold. 

He looks around the room when he's left alone, his eyes climbing up on taller, tallest shelves filled with books he's ever witnessed. It feels surreal to see this big of a library, and he thinks how getting killed in here seems like waste of space and function this room could provide. 

But when he dwells on taking a step further down into the spacious library, somebody moves from behind him, scarring him out of his skin. 

"Who... Who is there?" He yells, trying to see in between rows and rows of books and shelves, finding a movement on his left next. "I can fight!"

"No, you cannot."

He gasps when somebody whispers just bellow his ear, and escapes quickly when he lunges forward. 

"I'm not afraid of dying!"

The figure stops running away when he feels the swoosh of air coming from underneath his robe, making him turn around abruptly. But when he stops, the figure smiles. 

"Your heartbeat says differently."

Jongin gasps, widening his eyes when the realization dawns on him. "You!" He points at the shorter male standing a couple of feet before him, remembering the face clearly. 

"Me." The figure nods, turning around to pick at the book standing on the first shelf he reaches for, but Jongin doesn't strand his eyes off his back. 

"You... were in the car... when I— Are you going to kill me?!" He gasps when the male turns around, raising his eyebrows. 

"Why would I kill you? You are special to me, Jongin."

The man knows his name as well, and by now, Jongin's sure he's here for some organ trading or worse. "I can't be a hooker, please!"

"Hooker?" The male asks, like hearing the word for the first time, mulling it over. He looks over. "Is that something nice?"

Jongin slowly shakes his head, going in a full blown head spinning. 

"Oh, then you are not going to be a hooker."

He watches as the man approaches another shelf on the other side of the long hallway spreading two different rows of neatly placed shelves, and picks something to pile in his arms. 

"I told them not to give you anything, but when you came through, you were so delirious. I must have a word with the officials. That was unacceptable! They cannot drug you like that and expect everything to be fine afterwards..."

Jongin watches with bated breath when he turns around, looking up to meet his eyes. The man is dressed in similar state as he was given earlier, with his robe going much shorter, much darker in color. There are some intricate details going along the edges where the colors spill in something vivacious, but he doesn't get to look at it longer when the man turns around, dropping the books down to a little basket he has perched up on a big, mahogany table in the corner. 

"Oh, where are my manners." The man looks almost boyish when the side of his lip gets turned upright, walking closer to him. Alarmed, Jongin moves behind, but steps on his robe on accident, almost toppling over when he gets pulled down as well. 

In the next couple of breaths, he waits for the ground to kick his head harshly, but instead, he stands back on his own two feet. When he looks down to something firm holding him around the middle, his breath gets backfired warm into his face, when he breathes out on something sturdy. 

"Careful, now. We do not want to have accidents on your first day here." 

Jongin looks up to deep, dark eyes, that smile at the edges, losing his footing again when the stranger holds him upright, chuckling softly. "Are you alright?"

"Get away from me!" His heart beats out of his chest when Jongin realizes how to sidesteps around his robe, collecting the train in his hands. Better safe than sorry. 

The male steps aside as well, hiding his face when he goes back to the table with his books, holding hands at the small of his back. Jongin looks petrified when their eyes meet again, as the other has the audacity to smirk in his directions, like reading his thoughts.

Jongin drops the robe from his hands, huffing out in the same manner, ready for some answers. 

"Who are you? Why am I here?"

"I am Do Kyungsoo."

Jongin squints. "Lord Do?"

The man—Kyungsoo—Lord Do? looks exasperated when he chucks more books into the basket still on top of the table, speaking without looking up. "I have told them million times already not to call me that..."

Jongin watches as he turns over some thicker novels, reading thought the explanation on the back. "Why am I here?"

"You are here because I need you." Lord Do raises his eyes, something twinkling in their deepness, making Jongin shiver when he stares for too long. 

"Why?"

Lord Do closes the robe around his frame, taking the basket filled with books along his side, as he starts walking to Jongin's side. When their feet almost kiss—Jongin's still in fuzzy slippers—the shorter moves to the side, opening the same door through which Jongin was pushed in earlier. 

When he doesn't move, rooted to the spot, Lord Do calls his name. "Jongin, would you like to join me for afternoon tea?"

🧛🧛🧛

Just as promised, Jongin gets served with herbal tea, with two cubes of sugar, that the servant from before even stirs in his ceramic cup, until the sugar dissolves. Jongin watches when they do the same with Lord Do's cup, adding milk to his cup as well, until they bow down, leaving them be. 

He's followed the shorter out of the door, through different hallways, each ending and starting the same. He's seen enough miles of the same burgundy carpet for as long as he lives. Which seems to be prolonged until he's had a cup of tea with his killer, Jongin assumes. 

Even with the thought of eventually dying in the hands of Lord Do, Jongin doesn't feel scared when their eyes meet, Lord even going extra mile to raise his cup in a toasting manner, before leaning the edge of the ceramic onto his plush bottom lip. 

Jongin doesn't think about the thickness that long, but the crimson color of his lips paints his mind unconsciously. 

"Is there something wrong with your drink?"

After awhile, Lord Do asks, when Jongin doesn't even reach to take his cup of tea. But he's having million questions swarming his brain, that he doesn't know where to start. The tea is the last thing there. 

So he starts with the most important one. "Where's my brother? Is he okay?"

Lord nods without a doubt in question, knowing very well that Kim Jongdae is safe and sound. "Of course he is. I made sure that he is taken care of."

Jongin pales. "Taken... care of?!"

Lord Do drops the cup down, shaking his head. "Not like that. He is in good hands."

But that doesn't clarify anything. "Why am I here?" Jongin repeats the question, same as the one he's asked back in the library, but Lord has a different answer this time around. 

"It is your destiny to be here."

Jongin blinks, tilting his head to the side. Nothing makes sense. "I don't belong here. I don't know where you got that, but I need to go home to my brother." 

Lord Do stands up from the chair he's sitting in, going around his study to lean on the windows instead. When he speaks again, Jongin expects him to get angry or worse, but he sounds composed, as ever. 

"I am afraid that is not possible."

"Why? I'm certain my family is already looking for me."

"Maybe your brother, but nobody else beside him is looking for you." He comes back to sit down, but decides in the last moment, walking around the table in the middle of the room, stopping behind Jongin's high chair. It's tall enough for him to lean down when he bends in the waist, as his mouth throb to lean down all the way, to taste Jongin as well as seeing him for the first time this close. 

He licks his lips moist just when Jongin twists in his chair, looking from underneath his lashes. "Why am I here?!" He sounds on a verge of panicking, so much that Kyungsoo wishes to scoop him up in his arms, and calm him down like he knows he could. But that might scare him away even more. 

"You sound like a broken record, Jongin." So he goes back to sitting across from him, Jongin's scent calming him enough. For now, at least.

"You're not answering my question, Lord!"

"Call me Kyungsoo."

"... What?"

"I am Kyungsoo, for you only."

Jongin pushes the chair to topple over when he stands up, glaring down to the other man and his composed stature as he sips more of his tea. "I don't fucking care—"

"Language, Jongin."

"—who are you, and what your name is! I wanna go home! Now!"

Kyungsoo drops the cup down on its saucer, licking his lips from the residue of the tea still lingering to the plumpness, and looks up with sharp eyes. Jongin gasps when he sees the shift happening right in front of him, blinking with both eyes when Kyungsoo's dark, deep eyes change into glowing red. 

That's not possible! That's not humanly possible!

"As much as I do not mind your foul language, there are still rules to follow." Kyungsoo stands up from the chair, going around to his back. Jongin's afraid of seeing him before getting killed, but gets surprised when Kyungsoo puts his fallen chair back on its legs, touching his shoulder to press him down. This is their first physical contact, and Jongin suddenly shivers.

But Kyungsoo's back in his own chair in the next moment, acting like their touch didn't affect him in any way. "Now, we are going to finish our afternoon tea, and then..." Kyungsoo trails off, taking the cup for the final taste. Jongin's tea is cold by now, but neither mind. 

Not when Jongin swallows down, every fiber of his body hyper-aware. "... Then what?"

Kyungsoo looks him in the eye over the edge of the ceramic, switching his eyes back to the normal deepness; warm dark brown a welcoming change for once. "I will answer whatever questions you have for me."

🧛🧛🧛

True to his words, Kyungsoo has taken him to the backyard of sort, but not really to the open space and fresh air. They took a seat on the rustic patio, with the same color scheme as the rest of the castle—as Jongin sees the true size of the house he's been locked up in—sitting across from each other once again. 

There's glass division on each side, with a roof in the same manner, long, outgrown twiner plants covering the top. Jongin looks around, taking the place in. He's been here long enough to realize it's not some kind of old factory building, rather than a old vintage citadel he's only ever seen on-line or in books. The whole hold is surrounded with dense forest, going around on each side Jongin can see. 

He thinks about running in the middle of the tress, getting lost in the branches and weeds, as he tries to escape back home. But he's certain his feet and mostly wit wouldn't lead him that far off, since he doesn't even where the castle is at. 

Luckily, Kyungsoo sits down more readily, taking a deep breath. "Relax." He says, entire time watching as Jongin's brain works on autopilot, his eyes scanning the area. 

He knows what the younger thinks, knows how this all might look, but he doesn't have another choice. Kyungsoo wants for Jongin not to have another choice in his mind. But he's also aware of the long road ahead. 

"Ask away."

Jongin looks at the dark eyes following his every move, enjoying in his voice more than normally. Kyungsoo has a deep, gruff almost, voice, but still warm enough to glaze his sides, and lull in him in comfort almost. But Jongin collects himself easily. 

"I.. shouldn't ask about the reasons of why I'm being here, right?" Kyungsoo quirks an eyebrow, shaking his head just once. 

"Okay.. Then, why are you here?"

Kyungsoo doesn't think for long. "I live here. In fact, I have been living here for a while now."

Jongin feels stupid for even asking, but he doesn't want to stay here. He thinks that maybe getting on Kyungsoo's good side is his ticket to escape, but when he looks back into the other's eyes, his thoughts don't seem so promising after all. 

"Can I go home?"

Surprisingly, Kyungsoo nods. "Nobody is holding you against your will."

Jongin bites his lower lip, feeling like he's being toyed with. This must be a trick, like he's seen in the movies. And he doesn't want to die on the threshold of the mansion, just as he breathed in his freedom once again. 

So he changes the topic. "Does the Mayor knows you've stolen his winner?"

Jongin expects Kyungsoo to laugh out loud at the silliness of the question, or ask why is he changing the turn of their conversation, but he certainly doesn't expect Kyungsoo to lower his eyes for a second, like being ashamed of the answer. 

"What?"

"He is..." Kyungsoo sucks both lips briefly, releasing them with pop as he finally answers. "The Mayor actually helped me."

Jongin stops, not blinking. "... What?"

"I take it you do not know history about your town."

He's been taught, along with Baekhyun and numerous fellow peers, about the history of the world, their country, and finally their town. But nothing stands out right now as meaningful for their conversation, when Kyungsoo doesn't question it again, and Jongin gets lost in his eyes. 

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"I see they have guarded you well enough."

"Guarded?" Jongin blanches. "From what?"

"From the truth, Jongin." Kyungsoo huffs out, and then proceeds to take a deep breath, mysterious in his ways once again. But, just as Jongin gets ready for the other one to stand up and leave, Kyungsoo speaks instead. 

"As you may know, your town is assertive when it comes to its growth and precedence in different areas of—"

Jongin bangs the table in front. "Cut to the chase!"

"You have been sacrificed by your own people."

On that... he stops. 

Jongin tilts his head to the side, not really connecting the loose ends. He.. was sacrificed?! Him?! Why?!? 

He doesn't have anything special about him. Shitty family, shitty grades, shitty life, and overall not that great of a personality and intellect. He doesn't have many talents, not that many friends either, and only people in his life that are always there are Jongdae and Baekhyun.

So it really doesn't make sense that he's been sacrificed for anything! Because there's nothing special about him, at the end of the day. 

Like sensing his confusion, Kyungsoo cracks a smile, just enough for his teeth to peek out. 

"Jongin, you are special. You just do not see it,yet."

But Jongin only blinks. Because he's not! And it infatuates him to no end, that anybody would think that, knowing him or not. 

"But I'm not. I really am not!" He stands up to leave, dropping the robe from his back, and staying in new clothes, that he's too busy to realize it's not his. "You have the wrong guy. I don't know what you promised them, or if this deal is concluded—"

"Jongin, I am still not done."

"—but I'm taking my leave now."

He turns to leave, but just as he tries to gather himself enough to reach the door, the glass shatters closed, like something pushed two sides to meet in the middle, cutting off his course. It doesn't make sense, he looks through the glass panel of the doors, seeing nobody on the other side. When he looks back to Kyungsoo, frightened, the man doesn't blink. 

"... You said I can leave..."

"When I finish talking, then yes."

Jongin holds his heart, hearing it pounding in both ears, and turns around to listen. "Talk, then."

"Sit down, first." Kyungsoo fixes his long robe, cutting the eye contact. It was becoming too much for Jongin, anyway. 

Without anything else to spit out, Jongin drops his hands down on the armrests of the patio chair and sits down slowly. Kyungsoo looks at him again, but Jongin doesn't decipher anger in his bottomless orbs. If he was quite honest, there's comfort instead, and he fears about what's going to be said. 

Kyungsoo licks his lips, and starts. "When I said that you may leave, because nobody here wants to harm you in any way, I was not wrong or deceiving. For once, I am always honest."

Jongin swallows at that, not realizing that he's scowling at the other, looking him from underneath his lashes. It would be a coy move even, if the situation was different. And if his lips weren't pulled in a tight line. 

That perhaps doesn't deter Kyungsoo from his line. Or he hides it well. "Now. If you wish to leave, be my guest."

Jongin sees the shift in Kyungsoo's temper, even when he tries to cover it up. So he pressures. "Just like that?"

"Just like how?"

"You're letting me go, just like that? After saying how it's my destiny to be here, and how you need me."

Kyungsoo licks his lips, looking down to the table top once. Then twice when Jongin doesn't blink, before he looks sharp into his own eyes. "If you are asking me to leave, then I cannot stand in your way. But.." There's a pause; Jongin watching out for every shift, every change. Every crack in Kyungsoo's unusually calm demeanor. 

"But?"

"I could only wish for you not to decide that. I could only hope, that is."

"Why destiny?"

Kyungsoo doesn't blink this time. "It is written in the stars, Jongin." Certain of his answer, that even Jongin believes him for a moment. 

"But I don't know you."

"I know you. That is enough for the beginning."

Jongin stands up on that, ignoring how Kyungsoo's eyes follow him to the exit, and this time the glass doors don't close before him. He pushes both panels open, walking out, or rather back into the house, finding another endless hallways awaiting. 

He hears steps behind him, but doesn't bother with them for too long, before another servant stops him in his steps. "Sir? Can I help you with something?"

"Where is the exit?"

The servant is a young girl, maybe in her twenties, and Jongin feels sorry for her and for the rest of the staff, having to work here. He only hopes they're not pressured against their will to stay, like he is. 

"Sir...?"

She doesn't look at him when she shows her surprise, but rather behind him, where Jongin turns to match her eyes. On a couple of steps away from him is Kyungsoo, composed in his stature, watching only him. When the girl asks what to do, Kyungsoo doesn't even blink when their eyes meet. 

"Show him what he wants."

The girl hurries down the hall to their left, leaving both of the males still standing, rooted to their feet, while Jongin thinks million miles per an hour. If this is a trap, then Kyungsoo has him where he wants him, because Jongin is not staying a minute longer. 

And if it's not, then their Lord is the worst captor ever. 

Just as he turns to follow after her, the same rich voice speaks up, almost whispering. 

"We will see each other again, Jongin."

"Don't hold your breath on that, Kyungsoo!"

🧛🧛🧛

His feet hurt while they step over grass and debris. It's physically tiring to run anymore, to walk even, but Jongin pushes further. He's gotten this far away, and he can see the road sign signaling how far away he is from his town. 

Just a bit longer, he pressures himself, going further and further down, until he collapses on the side of the road. He's been going on for a day, at least, and he doesn't know how much more he could take. 

His feet are still clad in soft slippers, that are ruined by now, even having some dirt and water clinging to the edges. Plus, he's cold.

When he was courageous enough to leave the villa of the other, Jongin didn't think about changing his clothes, or asking for his own. He's certain in the middle of it all, that he was wearing his jacket back at the festival, which would've come in handy at the moment, as he trembles and shivers. 

But he needs to go a bit longer, needs to make another step and another, because who knows if there's someone following him, ready to attack and bring him back to Kyungsoo if he goes awry. 

So when he reaches his town, the adrenaline kicks in, as he runs through the first houses that appear, feeling his bones cracking with each step. 

Their street isn't that far off, but still not that near, and if he could go for another half an hour, he'd make it. 

And he does!

When he spots his house, sitting soundly in their quiet street, Jongin runs more and more, until his feet catch up with their front lawn, his fists already knocking on the wooden door. 

Catching his breath, Jongin knocks louder, grabbing at the knob to enter, but gets nothing in return. The door is locked, the house empty, and he doesn't understand anything. 

When he looks back to other houses, they seem oddly quiet. He thinks about Jongdae, remembering that he's left him with Baekhyun and hurries down the familiar path to his best friend's house. 

Another ten minutes of running, and he's lightheaded when he drops on his front door, pounding the door with both fists. It takes almost three minutes for someone to open the door and when they do, Jongin drops down when he sees Baekhyun once again. 

"J-Jongin!?"

"Baek! Baek, I'm back!" He's winded, barely talking because of his dry throat, and also barely breathing with his sore sides. He's been running far too long. "Where's.. Where's Dae?!"

Baekhyun looks around, petrified that someone is around to witness the scene, and then drops down to pull Jongin inside. When the front door closes with a thud, Baekhyun is quickly in Jongin's arms, hugging the life out of him. 

"What happened to you!? I've asked back at the festival, and they said you were sold. Sold, Jongin! What does that even mean!?"

Jongin looks around, not seeing Baekhyun's parents around. He doesn't dwell on that far too long, because his brother is still missing. 

"Where's Dae? Baek, please."

But Baekhyun stays silent. They walk to the first room on their left, which happens to be the kitchen, and sit down to talk. Jongin sees and feels, even more, uneasiness coming from his best friend, and nothing makes sense. 

"Baek?"

"Ji, I—" He shakes his head, avoiding Jongin's eyes. 

"What... Where's Jongdae, Baekhyun..." His voice trails off, as he feels panic swallowing him up. "What happened?"

"Dae is with your mom."

"Where?!"

"I.. don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know? Where are they? I've been at my house, and it's empty." Now that he thinks about it, their furniture was away also, as much as he could've seen through the front windows. He asks Baekhyun about it too. 

"It's been like that for a five days now, Jongin."

Five days?!

"Wait, how long have I been away?"

Baekhyun finally looks up. "You've been away for a week, Ji."

Jongin slaps both palms on his eyes, not understanding anything. 

"Then, where is Dae?!"

"Your mom took him away. There have been moving trucks two days after your disappearance, and they took all the stuff away. Everything, Ji. And that was the last time I've seen Dae too."

Jongin stops breathing. How could they just leave!? While her mother's son is missing, while Jongdae's brother isn't there anymore. Has nobody really tried to find him. How soulless his own mother could be?!

"What is happening, Baek?"

Baekhyun gulps down when their eyes meet, and Jongin knows the truth. It's exactly what Kyungsoo has said. 

"Maybe your brother is, but nobody else beside him is looking for you."

"Jongin, this town.. This town is mad! They have this history of sacrificing their own for common good. Of their culture, crops, tourism—you name it!"

"Sacrificing?! Are you ill?"

"Jongin, it's real!" Baekhyun reaches for his hand, pulling it in the middle of the kitchen island. "They taught us this in school, but I couldn't remember it. I couldn't remember that class where they said how it's normal, noble even to be the town's proud and joy, for losing your own life in order for everyone else's wellbeing."

Jongin blinks. This doesn't make sense. Nothing does, anymore. 

"Baek.. what are you—?"

"Jongin, you are this century's token. They sacrificed you this time around, and if anybody sees you here, you're going to get killed!"

On that, he blanches. Everything settles down slowly, when Baekhyun's teary eyes is all that he sees. 

"Get killed!? For what?"

"For not following through with the order. For running away. That man can ruin everything if they realize you're back! He can burn this town to ashes, if you don't go back to him! Jongin, please! Understand this!"

"What man? Baek.." He thinks it through, and it doesn't make sense. Kyungsoo let him go on his own will, he's not going to kill their town just because of him. Right?

"He's powerful, Jongin. So powerful, and if you don't go back, he's gonna ruin everything! You have to escape!" Baekhyun drops his hand, getting up as his voice calms down. He's almost whispering by now. 

"Jongin, you have to run away. Get away from here!" When he turns around, he looks like a madman. "Listen to me, you can't go back! You can't go back to that vampire—"

"Wait, what!?" Jongin bolts out. "Vampire?"

Baekhyun blinks, nodding slowly. What he says next, makes Jongin's blood freeze. "That man is a vampire. They sacrificed you to a vampire, Jongin. And if you don't go back to him, we are all dead."

🧛🧛🧛🧛🧛

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hii~ This update came quicker than I anticipated!
> 
> So happy to continue with this story, and I can't wait to see your comments!
> 
> See you in the next update! :)
> 
> Love you, xox


	3. Chapter 03.

Chapter 03.

The wind outside picks up loose leaves, dancing each platter with a somewhat solemn grace, dropping it down to its rightful places on the concrete afterwards. 

When another wave grazes their undersides, carrying them to another place. They might be moving, thinking in their nonexistent minds of how life gives much more than just this one spot, this one time of existing, but even then, the dried out leaves don't have nothing else to achieve. 

They're just there, on a blink of dying out, crumbling away, with the help of the wind, nonetheless, the same culprit that hooked them off their trees. Even with a shift, with a move to the south, they're still crumbling with each flight, diminishing into nothing. 

And Jongin feels the same. 

His mind is blank, heart aching and eyes racing. Watching from the once his favorite place in the house, as the wind picks up more leaves, dropping them down when it uses them to its advantage. 

The house is silent, eerily so, with nobody calling his name, either to curse him for being alive—like his mother used to—or to be accompanied with the softest patter of his brother's feet, as Jongdae asks for his help in homework or passing another level of his favorite game. 

But Jongin doesn't feel like crying. Nothing has settled down within his mind yet, and he could only wish for this nightmare to end. Maybe if he's lucky enough, he would wake up in his own bed, with the same midnight blue covers thrown to the floor, and the same shrill of his alarm clock welcoming a new day. 

And maybe he wouldn't feel like those exact leaves outside - dried out, hopeful for something new, but in the end left alone to finally crumb into nothingness. 

It's been a couple of hours since he'd left Baekhyun's house. He didn't know where to go, what to do and who to try to find, since his best friend did warn him about whole city dragging on his back. 

If anybody was to see him, he'd be shipped back to the Lord Doh in matter of moments, or worse...

… Jongin doesn't even try to go there. 

So he went back home. To the house that used to hold him down, suffocate him from the inside, to becoming a literal safe haven. 

Jongin tried to be sneaky in his ways, going through the back alleys, knowing the way home like the back of his hand. When he tried the front door, it was unlocked, but he didn't use it after all. There was a back entrance, right through the kitchen area, going into the hallway that connected the whole house. 

Now, when he looks back over his shoulder, the hallway is empty. Like most of the rooms. 

There is literally nothing left. No furniture, his family photos, favorite blankets, carpets, picture frames that he never really looked at enough to remember the landscape drawn onto blank canvases— and finally no sight of his family. 

No note, no phone call, no... nothing. 

His brother and mother might as well be a fragment of his imagination by now. And he would really think that, lose his mind over it, if it wasn't for Baekhyun to remember them; to explain how the moving truck drove them away, right after he was sacrificed. 

… Sacrificed. 

This is real life! This is his life! Being sacrificed isn't something that you hear everyday. He was literally going to school just last week, thinking how this whole town will swallow him up before he even gets a chance to think about escaping, and now.... he's really swallowed up. 

And by people he didn't even know. 

Jongin sighs out, dropping down from leaning on the window's sill and moves to sit underneath it instead. The house is dead silent, still, with no lights going through the empty space. He's really alone.

And Jongin doesn't know where to begin. 

He doesn't know who can he trust, even going as far as doubting Baekhyun, and he was friends with him even before starting school. 

There's a groan filling up the space even before Jongin registers it's coming from his own lips, before he screams his frustration out, clearing out his lungs. There's no hope, really. 

He goes over possible solutions, but finds nothing in the end. 

Baekhyun doesn't know about their town's history, and he doesn't know where his family left to. He doesn't have a phone to contact them, and even if he did, he wouldn't know where to direct the said call. There isn't any immediate family either that he knows of, other than his mother and brother. 

As far as he heard about it, his mother lost her parents when she was in her teen years, didn't have any close relatives, and has been alone all of her life. And when it comes to his father... he knew even less. 

His mother never talked about him, never showed him any photos of the man, and never even started up the topic of having a husband in the first place. Jongin hasn't really pried into it more, because he never really needed parents, especially after Jongdae was born, when he took upon himself most of his mother's work as a mother she never was. 

But now as he thinks about it... he really wished to know about his father's whereabouts. Maybe then, he'd get help from the man, or maybe this whole thing wouldn't have happened.

With that thought, Jongin goes upstairs to look for any forgotten furniture that he could use for the night, or any blanket, towel that his mother's left behind. 

The whole house is stripped off pieces that made it home. Or used to make it home. For him and for Jongdae. No matter how his mother used to act, this was a home to both of them, to her as well, probably, and it pains him to see it like this. Bared, cold and quiet. 

He doesn't check the bathroom on the second floor, and goes to Jongdae's room at the end of the hallway. But just as he passes by his own room, something catches his eye. 

First his eyes widen, and then his breath hitches. 

His room is still there! Nothing's been moved, seemingly not touched as well, and when Jongin pushes the door fully open, he sees his stuff still laying where he'd left it at almost a week ago. 

Old t-shirt that he uses around the house was still on the edge of the bed, hanging where he left it after changing into the clothes he's wearing now. The same one that he'd put on before joining Baekhyun in the festival. 

Bed is still unmade, his old sneakers sitting underneath, with his favorite pillow at the head. Everything is there!

Jongin walks in and looks around hazily. Nothing makes sense. If the rest of the house—even the toilet bowls in both bathrooms—are gone, taken presumably with his mother and Jongdae, why is his room still there, untouched, unbothered, un—

He feels the wetness on his upper lip first. 

His family really left him. Took off without even bothering with checking where he was, where he was taken... 

Jongin sits down on the edge of the bed, finally crying out. There's pent up anger and frustration bubbling from the inside, tearing him apart when he screams once again, letting it out. Through his pores, through his fingers, through his screams. 

They took everything away! Every piece of cloth, furniture, miniature.... everything except for his things. His clothes, desk, bed, lamp even the shades on the windows are still there. Everything!

Like it didn't matter. Like this didn't belong to him, to his mother's son....

Jongin pushes upwards to lay down, closing his eyes when he turns to the familiar setup of his room, the same one that he's spent nearly all of his life in. Everything is still the same, but nothing is!

He tries to blink, tries to fight it through, but nothing makes sense. Like it never did. 

If only he could see Jongdae again. Amidst everything, he really misses his brother. Jongin wishes for the younger to be good, wherever he is, whoever he is with. He knows that his mother couldn't take care of him even when Jongin was around, so he could only hope she finds some common sense in her now, when her other son is gone. 

… And she didn't even try to find him. 

With that thought, Jongin closes his eyes, pretending to sleep. If you convince yourself long enough, it could become true. Like he pretends to be okay. 

🧛🧛🧛

"... —gin... Jongin… Jongin!"

"What, what?!"

He pushes upwards when the door swings open, revealing a confused Baekhyun walking in. He's winded, breathing heavily through his mouth, and instead of meeting his eyes, 'looks around the room. "What... what happened here?"

Jongin yawns, widely so, scratching behind his ear. It's an old habit that he hasn't been able to shake off. At least some things didn't change. 

"... with what?" He asks, looking up to the windows. It's already morning, judging only by the sun that's high in the sky. When he looks back at Baekhyun, his friend raises both eyebrows, waiting. 

"Oh..." And then it clicks. He's alone; Lord Doh; family missing—Jongdae missing; his room left untouched— "I'm... still alone?"

Baekhyun crosses the room to sit down next to him, gnawing on his lower lip. "I snuck out to see you. My family asked me about you yesterday. They heard someone saying how you're back.. And they're worried the rumor might be true." His head suddenly hangs lower. "And you know what that could mean for this town..."

"I don't, actually." Jongin pushes himself up, walking to the windows to check the backyard. There's no reason for it, really, but he still looks ahead, frightened about those people coming to get him. "I don't know what it means, because nothing makes sense, Baek!"

Baekhyun huffs out, looking at the opened door leading to the empty hallway. Instead, he changes the topic. "Where are your stuff?"

"It's still here, can't you see."

"But, the rest—"

"The rest wasn't mine." Jongin turns around to say, boring his eyes into Baekhyun's. He's so damn pissed about it all. "That's why it's not here. Like I am. Like my stuff is. I don't matter, therefore my room doesn't either."

Baekhyun walks to the windows too, checking the yard at the back. It's empty. Still.

"Listen, I need to cut to the chase. People are suspicious."

Jongin blanches. "Of me?"

Baekhyun nods. "Somebody apparently saw you yesterday, on your way home—" he gets cut off when Jongin snickers, moving to change into some newer clothes, even though his closet is a bit dusty when he cracks both doors open. 

"—to this house, then." Baekhyun watches him go, swallowing down. "And they're planning a search for you. It's too risky to stay here."

"Let them." 

"What?"

Jongin comes out dressed in his favorite sweater, with a patterned bear stitched to his shoulder. When Baekhyun finds his eyes, they're hard. Determined. "I said, let them search. I'm here."

There's a beat of silence, when both stop to mull over his words. And a couple of moments are enough to hear the world happening outside. It used to lull Jongin to sleep, but now it makes him sick to the stomach. 

"Jongin.." Baekhyun starts slowly, sitting down on the sill when Jongin goes to change his pants and underwear. "You don't understand. If they find you, you're dead—"

"Baekhyun, I really don't have anything else left. And I never really cared for myself that much.. So, might as well—"

"I care for you, Jong!" Baekhyun cuts him off, coming to slam the closet door closed. "So does Dae!"

On that, Jongin huffs out, turning to look at the side instead. Baekhyun's imploring eyes are too much. 

"Baek…" So he starts slowly.. trying to reason himself. "I don't—" Another deep breath. "I don't know where my family is.." Baek only blinks, looking down afterwards. "And even if I did... they don't care about me anymore. I'm nothing. I have nobody... I don't have anything else to lose—"

"You're gonna lose your life, if you continue to be like this."

"I don't care about it. I was never really fond of it, to be honest. This moment would've come sooner or later. The people choose sooner, I guess."

Baekhyun tilts his head to the side, mulling over the words. No... That means that—

"You... were suicidal? You are suicidal!?"

Jongin huffs out, closing the other door and moves away. It's too much. He has no time to think and he really needs to think this over. Baekhyun doesn't let go, as usual.

"Jongin!" He pulls him by his arm, stopping both of them. Baekhyun's next words are shaking, as he's probably on the verge of crying. Neither can cope with this. "Is.. is it true?"

"I never really tried anything, but—" Jongin walks to the windows, not looking back. He can't watch Baekhyun as he spills the deepest corners of his mind. Of his heart. Of his intentions. After a scratch on the side of his nose, he starts. "There wasn't really much for me.. How should I say this- I was depressed. Or rather hoped I was."

"... Hoped?"

"I felt sad, not knowing what to do with my life. How to continue, how to do... this!"

His bed screams a silent cry when Baekhyun sits on it, keeping his mouth shut. 

"This place.. my family.. nothing fulfilled me. Not even my interests, dancing or..." He trails off. He never thought of it, so that's why he doesn't know in which way to express it, for he thought it would never come to this - articulating his words that were always just thoughts.

"There's something missing." Jongin finally says, turning when Baekhyun wipes at his cheeks. "I feel like I'm not full. Whole. Like a piece is missing. A part of my soul, my heritage, my... my life."

"Is this... about your dad?"

And Jongin thinks about it. Maybe.

"Maybe." 

Baekhyun stills at that, looking around the room. He's trying to understand, also. Like Jongin's been trying his whole life. 

But when he looks up, meeting Jongin's eyes, he doesn't understand either. And Jongin doesn't blame him. "But you have Dae and you have dancing and you have me and you—"

He speaks so fast, that Jongin could barely follow.

"Baek, I... I have to go." He doesn't pick anything, because he doesn't need anything where he's going. It's time. It's his time to finish it, to break free and prove his point. 

"Jongin! Jongin, wait!" His best friend is hot on his heels, running down the stairs when Jongin slides downstairs, slapping the front door to its hinges when Jongin reaches for the doorknob. 

"No!"

"Baek!"

"No, stop!"

"I need to—"

"No, Jongin, no!" Baekhyun slides down the door when Jongin swallows up, waiting. They hear the city bustling on the other side, but it's louder, more vivid, like it's happening only for them. 

Because it is. 

Baekhyun is the first one to move, pulling Jongin's hand to the back of the house, shushing him on the way. 

"Baek—"

"They're here!" He gets pulled into the cellar beneath the stairs, with Baekhyun closing the small door just as the front door bustles open. "Please! Stay here! Stay quiet. Jongin, please!"

They don't see each other in the dark, but Jongin feels the shivers down his back when Baekhyun speaks. This means more to him than to his own life. And Jongin is ready to leave it all. 

"Baek—"

"Promise me on your brother, Jongin!"

"... I promise."

They stop to listen to people mingling in the empty space, every little pat and breath echoing on vast walls. Jongin hears deep voices clearing out each room on their way to checking the whole house, so secured in thinking Jongin's back, back to ruin their plans. 

Baekhyun doesn't breath next to him, cocking his head to hear it better. It's too suffocating, too small for both of them to fit, and Jongin remembers briefly about his fear of closed spaces. He tries to breathe deeper, but the walls keep coming closer. 

"Jong." Baekhyun breathes out, holding his hand in both of his. It's warm, comforting and Jongin closes his eyes, trying to think of anything else. 

"Who saw him, again?"

"Mrs. Lee from the corner."

Baekhyun shushes him when the voices stop seemingly on the other side of their hiding space. They both stop to listen. 

"And she's sure it was him?"

There's a beat of silence, Jongin not blinking at the small door he's almost pressed upon. Just one twist of the knob and his destiny is sealed. 

"Who knows," Silence is suffocating. "She's old, but she's on the watch all the time."

A scoff, then a higher voice. "Old women, right. Always gossiping." The voices trail off while they move away from the door, and Baekhyun breathes out on that. Jongin doesn't. He feels like he's floating somewhere between dream and reality. This is all too much.

"We're safe, they're leaving—" Just as Baekhyun comes closer to whisper, the door creaks open. 

Jongin doesn't blink when the harsh light from the outside blinds them and instead gets ready to attack. To fight. But when the face comes into focus, he puzzles even more. 

"You?!"

"We have to go. People are coming back."

Baekhyun's being pulled out first, following by Jongin when the air is clear. There are still voices carrying out through the whole house, but as far as Jongin sees, there isn't anybody on the ground floor. 

The tall man crosses the hallway to the back entrance in three big steps, pushing both Jongin and Baekhyun out, before closing the door with utmost gentleness. 

"Follow me." 

And Jongin and Baekhyun do. Going after their savior to the backyard next to Jongin's house, having to climb over the tall fence that bends when all three of them use it as the leverage. The tallest helps Baekhyun in jumping down, waiting for Jongin who pushes him off when his feet touch the freshly cut grass. 

Nothing is said as the path leads them out to another backyard, this time the one parallel to the previous. When they try to go beside the house to the front yard, Jongin panics.

"There are people—"

"My car is parked there. Hidden." The tallest assures, following behind Baekhyun when the shorter runs to it. 

But his best friend doesn't follow them inside it. 

"Baek?" Jongin stops, not closing the door behind him. The tallest is already at the stirring wheel, looking back to see what's happening. The voices are still loud enough and they don't have enough time if they don't want to be found. 

"I can't go with you, Jong." Baekhyun looks back at Jongin's house and roof that's still visible from here, thinking it over. His parents might be among those people looking for his best friend, and as much as hates to admit it, he has to pretend to look for him too. To think like them. To act as such too. 

"Baek…"

"It's okay. Don't worry about me, okay." Jongin never realized how easy of a crier Baekhyun is. "Just be safe. Run! And don't come back."

And with that, Baekhyun shuts the door in his face, turning around to run to where his house is still being pestered with his neighbors, not turning around. 

The taller doesn't wait in starting the car, driving off to the other side, hurrying to escape the scene. When they're outside of the city lines, Jongin finally looks ahead, leaving everything behind. He's done this time. Not coming back. He assures himself more than needed, knowing he's not good with keeping promises.

"So.." He turns to the taller, following his eyes set on the road. His driver doesn't seem worried or scared, and Jongin's at ease even for a bit. "Where are we... going?"

The man smiles at first, snickers next and glances at him once. "Do you even need to ask."

🧛🧛🧛

"I don't wanna be here."

"Good to see you too, Mister Jongin."

Jongin leans back in his chair, looking up to the sky. It's almost night time, the stars are settling, twinkling down to his disdain. And he's back in the same study room. 

"Why am I here?"

The taller comes back from talking to the maid outside the door, and stands next to his high chair. He looks even taller when Jongin looks to the side and up, craning his neck as far as it goes. 

"Lord Doh wanted to see you."

"I don't want to see him." He sounds like a petulant child that doesn't want to fight anymore. Jongin knows that when Lord Doh's servant, assistant or butler—whatever the man is—came to his salvation, there was only one direction to head to. 

And he's back in Lord Doh's—Kyungsoo's house. 

The taller chuckles, going around to face him instead. "If I were to leave you there with those people—"

"I would've died, yeah, I know." Jongin's full of breath when he huffs out, cocking his head to the ceiling once again. The study room has a glass panel roof instead of plain, boring paint covered one, and Jongin's glad for that at least. It doesn't feel suffocating because he chooses to stargaze at the moment.

Kyungsoo's butler is silent for a moment, making Jongin turn his head to look for him. "What's your name?"

"I am Chanyeol, my lord."

Lord?! "Lord?"

Chanyeol smiles before turning around, getting ready to leave him be. He has other chores to attend to, and saving Lord Doh's trophy was just one of those. 

"Lord Doh is on a very important meeting. He will be back in about half an hour. If you want, you can go back to your room until he arrives." Chanyeol pours him another cup of steaming tea from the bronze teapot when the previous cup has already cooled down, and leaves him alone. 

"With your permission—"

"Chanyeol, wait!"

Jongin stands up from the chair when Chanyeol walks back to the room, looking around for what might be the reason of why he's stopped. "Yes, my lord?"

"Is Kyungsoo…" But he can't say it. The same sentence has been over and over in his head, flashing before his eyes even when Baekhyun came by to see him. But now, when he has to say it out loud... Chanyeol will laugh to his face if he dared to ask.

So he lies. It's ridiculous to even think that Lord Doh might be a... a... a vampire! 

"Does Kyungsoo know I'm here?"

Chanyeol smiles, professionally so, and nods. "Lord Doh was the one who sent me to your rescue, my lord."

🧛🧛🧛

Jongin dreams about big, empty places, with nothing or no one for miles. It's vast, hurried and somehow suffocating. Because there's nothing in midst of his chaos that smothers him from the inside. It feels different than the storm raging in his mind and Jongin actually feels the anxiety coming in waves. 

Just as he tries to scream it out, to let it go, he wakes up from it all. With a kick in the air and a chair shriek. There's something wet at his chin and he wipes it off just as the room comes into focus.

The first thing he sees is nobody else but the Lord Doh himself.

"You!"

"Me!" Kyungsoo smiles, or doesn't drop his smile when Jongin points at him, raising up one daring eyebrow. He's still in the study room of the other, and Jongin realizes with a shiver that he fell asleep waiting for Kyungsoo to come back. Or just waiting. He doesn't want to admit to have waited for the other, because he doesn't want to be here. 

"What are you doing here?!"

"I could ask you the same." There are two cups of steaming tea in front of him, one more to Jongin's side, and the second on the edge closer to Kyungsoo. The man across reaches for his to sip on it. "I thought you said how you are never coming back."

Jongin briefly wonders about never ending supplies of tea the Lord has but comes back to the conversation afterwards. "And I don't want to be here."

Kyungsoo hums, lowering the saucer back on the tabletop. Their eyes don't meet when Kyungsoo picks something from his breast pocket, continuing the talk. "Nobody pressured you to—"

"Chanyeol did."

The Lord doesn't like when people interrupt him, so he glares across the table. But it's only for a short while—Jongin sees something red literally flashing in his eyes—before he hums once again. 

The object from his hands stop at the tabletop in front, and Jongin, not bearing to look into his eyes, lowers his sight. It's small, almost the size of a small plum, with numbers that go in circle around the wood. 

Jongin looks upwards, waiting for Kyungsoo to do anything with his toy, but gets an expectant look instead. So he reaches for it, taking the wooden object between his fingers. 

"Oh!" 

This seems familiar. He used to play with bigger ones when he was a kid. It spins when you push it in a circle, and it could go on for seconds, if you let it develop. 

"It's a spinning top, right?"

Jongin asks, not tearing his eyes off the little toy in his hand, touching the pointy end at the bottom with his thumb. "I used to play with these."

When the dull needle stops at the table, Jongin holds the upper part, swinging it a bit to the sides. Numbers on the sides go from 1 to 12, meeting on one side of the polygonal, flat bodies. There's 12 sides in total, and they are pierced in the middle with a wooden needle in the same color.

Just for the old times, Jongin spins it with his two fingers, watching the numbers losing one to another, creating a spinning circle that stables after a second. 

"Actually, it is called a teetotum." Kyungsoo says, watching Jongin instead. "I have never used it actually."

Jongin gets distracted when the top falls down to one side, number 6 and 7 staying at the top. "Why?" He asks, offhandedly, twisting it again. This time, it stays spinning much longer, and even Kyungsoo glances at the single circular motion that captures both of their attention for a while.

"That story is for another time."

He wants to spin it again, but decides against it, returning the spinning die to its rightful owner. But Kyungsoo surprises him once again. 

"You do not have to return it. I want to gift it to you, instead."

"Why?"

"You are full of questions, I see." 

Kyungsoo gets up when Jongin pushes the toy in his direction and turns around to get back to his previous work. He was just coming back from his meeting to organize bookshelves that were so disheveled from the previous months of reading and going through different material of his ancestors, when a lovely surprise awaited for him in his study. 

There was Jongin, his Jongin, once again, sleeping soundly on his favorite high-back padded armchair. To say he was surprised, would've been a lie, because Chanyeol informed him about giving a hand when Jongin had it tough. Beside, he was the one to send his butler to check upon the younger. He couldn't just let him suffer from his own people. 

"Ugh, people..."

"Did you say something?"

Kyungsoo bites on his tongue, turning around when Jongin asks. He's talking to himself once again; Kyungsoo curses himself mentally. "Nah—" -throat clearing- "—I have not."

Jongin watches him go in between each shelf, working diligently on novels on top of novels that are all lined up on the floor. Some of his books are thicker than everything he's ever read in his life, and Jongin shudders. 

"Can I really keep this?" 

Kyungsoo hums somewhere deep into his books. And Jongin smiles. It's a first gift after a while, and he somehow finds this little spinning toy comforting in a way. Must've had something with the melancholy from the childhood. He feels awfully nostalgic. 

"Can I ask you some questions?"

Jongin pockets his new toy and stands up from Kyungsoo's tea table. He plans on going around until he finds Kyungsoo, but the elder hears him loud and clear. 

"What kind of questions?"

"About my town..." Jongin finds one smaller book on his way through the study slash library and turns it around. The bottom side is more dusty, so he reasons how it must've been turned before landing on the floor. "About this place.. About you."

There's a thud in the very back of the library, with a low hiss falling next. Jongin stops to look ahead, but still doesn't see anything of Kyungsoo. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes.. Just a— Ask away."

Jongin beams. "Okay, are you a vampire?!"

Another thud, a bigger one, and this time Kyungsoo actually yelps. Jongin labyrinths his way through piles and piles of books and finds the shorter one on the floor next to a big mess of books, some of which landed on his face too. 

"Are you okay?!" Kyungsoo groans when Jongin helps him in getting up, holding a hand over his nose. "Did it hit your nose?"

"Yeah.. But I will be alright." Kyungsoo walks out to the more vast space of his library and takes his suit jacket from the armchair he was sitting on when Jongin woke up. "Dinner will be served in an hour. Ask anyone to show you the way to the dining room." 

Dumbly, Jongin nods, not even remembering that he's asked something, until Chanyeol comes back after Kyungsoo leaves. "What did you do to my lord?"

"He... fell?"

"Lord Doh does not do such things, Mister Jongin."

"Well, he kind of did." Jongin scratches his head on the whole situation, but remembers his lingering questions from before. "Chanyeol! My savior!"

The taller nods, furrowing his well-kept eyebrows. "What can I do for you, Mister Jongin."

"Is Kyungsoo a vampire??" His enthusiasm to know the truth is palpating obvious. 

There's a beat of silence, Chanyeol showing his discomfort for a moment, before he opens his mouth. Then closes it. Then opens it again. Jongin groans. 

"Chanyeol, just spill it!"

"... Spill.. it?"

Jongin doesn't have time for all of this. He needs to know, and he needs to know now. "Just tell me the truth!"

"Well.. My lord has always taught me to speak truth, and nothing but the truth—"

"In this century, 'Yeol!"

"Oh! Do you know something of the next century? I have not counted the time ever since we have gotten those cardboard rectangle system of days and months that you people call calendars—"

Jongin pulls at his hair out of frustration. "I'm not talking about basic household object. I need to know if your boss is a blood-sucking creature or not!"

But Chanyeol spirals even deeper. "Oh, we have not sucked blood in almost a century. It is not a common trait anymore." There's a fucking yelp when he continues. "Have you not known about blood bags? They literally save our lives..."

Chanyeol trails off and Jongin looks puzzled. "If you're talking about real, human blood... does that mean that you two are..."

"Vampires! Yes, Mister Jongin!"

There's too much enthusiasm when Chanyeol finally answers, and for a second Jongin blacks out. 

🧛🧛🧛

"Are you a fucking vampire?!"

Kyungsoo should've heard him coming—come on, his hearing is still top notch, even for his age—but he still gets frightened out of his skin when Jongin barges in, that even his fork gets flying across the table. 

After calming down, he calls for one of his servant to bring him another fork, and a plate for Jongin. The younger decided to join him for dinner, after all. How lovely. 

"It is nice to see you here, Jongin."

"Don't change the fucking subject!"

"Have you found your way easily?"

"My lord!" The petit girl brings everything out, setting the plate on the seat next to Kyungsoo, even though this table in particular have fourteen chairs in total. 

"That is a whole lot of cursing, Jongin. Are you feeling alright?"

"Kyungsoo! I—"

"Please join me for dinner. The duck is getting cold." Kyungsoo points to the food set in front with his new clean fork, and continues to eat until Jongin takes a seat as well. "Good. Would you like some wine with your dinner—"

"I would like for you high ass to tell me the truth!"

Kyungsoo dismisses the servants that are in the corners of the rooms, until they're the only two staying. "I would not call my—gluteus maximus high, but alright."

Jongin is still seething next to him, so after swallowing, Kyungsoo wipes his mouth, holding onto the napkin. "What do you want to know?"

The younger blanches, for he just asked like twenty times already, and Kyungsoo's still pretending. "Do you suck blood?!"

"I do not."

Jongin stops for a second. "What? But 'Yeol said how you are vampires, and—"

"I drink it. With a straw."

That... completely confuses Jongin to no end. "... What?"

Kyungsoo nods, proving his point. "I use those wooden straws that do not actually bend when you drink something, but I am trying to save this planet, for your people have done nothing but ruin it for years now." He cracks a smile when Jongin's head drops down on the table in front, his cheek landing right into his clean plate. 

"I can't do this.. I'm losing my mind with you all... I can't..."

Kyungsoo continues to eat while Jongin has an existential crises, but stops when the door burst open once again, beaming when his brother walks in. 

"Kyungi, who is this?"

Jongin gets up when a tiny voice speaks up, getting surprised when a small boy walks up to Kyungsoo's other side, peering over his chubby cheeks. 

"This is Jongin. I have told you about someone new coming to live with us, right?"

Jongin watches when the boy nods slowly, pouting naturally when Kyungsoo pats his shoulder-length hair that is neatly pushed to the back, and ushers him to sit down next to him. 

"Minnie, are you hungry?"

"Yes, hyung."

The newcomer doesn't say anything when Kyungsoo pours everything from the table into the boy's plate, and cuts him off the best piece of today's duck. And if that isn't enough, Kyungsoo even cuts everything into little pieces, smiling when the boy digs in, forking everything slowly. 

"Hello," Jongin starts slowly, waiting for the boy to look up. When his icy blue eyes finally catch his, Jongin realizes that the boy probably looks younger than he really is. "My name is Jongin. And what is yours?"

The tiniest looks at Kyungsoo once, asking for a permission, and when he gives him a nod, the boy stands up from his chair and actually bows. 

"Hello, my name is Doh Minseok. Nice to meet you, Mister Jongin."

Jongin cracks a smile. "Just call me hyung."

"Can I really?"

Kyungsoo watches the interaction, not being able to stop the smile from breaking through. He feels warm all over.

"Of course. And I can call you... Minnie?"

But Minseok shakes his head, sitting back down. He's really hungry, but Kyungsoo taught him not to speak with his mouth full, so he waits a bit longer before eating again. "Only my hyung can call me that."

"Ah, too bad. I thought I was your hyung too." Jongin knows with children, since his brother is the similar age with Minseok, and he knows how to approach shy kids as well. Even though Jongdae isn't like that, Jongin still have patience. Minseok seems like a great, well-behaved kid. 

Minseok continues to eat, sharing looks between his hyung and Jongin, smiling when Kyungsoo asks about his meal. "Is it good? Do you like it?"

"Delicious!" When he smiles, Jongin sees that his two teeth on the side of the lips are missing, both in the exact space where fangs ought to be. 

But when he admires how Kyungsoo acts with the younger, he doesn't feel scared anymore. Not like he was ever frightened, Jongin soon realizes. 

"It's your favorite, right?" Kyungsoo asks when Minseok nods, and pours him some of the sauce next to the remaining cut-up meat. The kid eats slowly, but Kyungsoo waits for him to finish each bite to ask him about his day so far. 

"I have learned about history today, hyung. It was so interesting."

"Really?"

"Mhm!"

Jongin smiles at how lively Minseok's eyes are when he tries to swallow more quicker, so he can speak more, and wishes for Jongdae to be here with them. 

"Professor Choi taught me about the 19th century, and he even brought some art pieces from that time. It was really beautiful."

"I am so glad to hear that Minnie. You are enjoying your classes, that is good."

"What is your favorite subject, Minseok?"

The boy is still a bit apprehensive when it comes to their new guest, but he still blinks down when Jongin asks, thinking it thoroughly. 

"Hmm... I like history. And..." There's a small, cute scratch on his nose, as Minseok seems deep in thought. Jongin glances at Kyungsoo, and the man is beaming. This is the first time he's seen the man smiling fully, looking proud of the smaller, and Jongin smiles too. 

"And biology too, right, Minnie?"

"Yes, hyung!" The boy exclaims loudly. "I love biology!"

"Ah, I wish my brother was like you. He hates studying."

That catches Minseok's attention. "Mister, you have a brother too?"

Jongin nods, proudly so. Something clogs his throat when he's reminded of where Jongdae is, or rather where he isn't—like right here with him—but Jongin tries to shrug it off. For now, at least. 

"His name is Jongdae. And he's seven years old."

Minseok gasps, softly. "I am seven years old, too!"

"Then you two have a lot in common, already!"

Minseok goes back to eating after that, munching cutely when Kyungsoo asks if he wants anything else. 

"You should eat too, Jongin. I know it has been long since you have had a proper meal." 

Jongin looks up to meet Kyungsoo's eyes, holding the connection for a moment too long, before nodding softly. "Thank you." He feels the need to thank him, and it doesn't go over Kyungsoo's head, who only smiles and nods down to his plate. 

He takes everything that's served, and digs in, but not in smaller bites like both Kyungsoo and Minseok do. He swallows everything in, basically inhaling the food, because it is that good. Plus, he's been starving for the last couple of days. 

Kyungsoo snickers when Minseok points at Jongin's cheek shyly, motioning for him to wipe something off. And Jongin naturally blushes when his fingers come back with a sauce smeared all over. 

"Thank you, champ!"

"... Champ?"

"Eat your meal, Minnie."

Jongin occasionally listens to Minseok's talks about his school and what he's learned recently. The kid really likes his teacher and his way of teaching, that Kyungsoo reminds him to invite him for at least one of their study meetings. 

"Professor Choi said how he thinks you're scary, hyung." Minseok admits shyly, chuckling behind his glass of water. 

"Me? Scary?" 

Jongin watches when Kyungsoo tries to tickle Minseok's sides for telling him that, feeling on a verge of crying almost. He misses Jongdae more than usual. And knowing his mother, Jongin could only hope for the younger to be okay. His younger brother needs his inhaler and medicine all the time, and he doubts his mother cares enough to help him. 

Just as Jongin spirals into panic, Kyungsoo clears his throat, suddenly closer than before. 

"Are you feeling alright, Jongin?"

Jongin sighs out, long and shaky, but eventually nods. "I am, thank you."

They go back to eating after that, before Minseok orders the dessert too. "Hyung, it is not my birthday today!"

"I know it is not." Kyungsoo sips at his wine, helping when the servants come to clean the table.

"Why did you ask for the cooking ladies to prepare this cake? You know it is my favorite."

Kyungsoo leans on his elbows, smiling when Minseok thanks for the plate with the biggest piece of his favorite dessert. "That is why. It is your favorite. Why wouldn't I arrange it, then?"

Minseok uses the table to climb up on the chair he's sitting in and while kneeling, smooches Kyungsoo's cheek with the loudest kiss he could muster. "Thank you, hyung. It's delicious!"

While Minseok eats, Jongin catches Kyungsoo's proud eyes watching him doing so. So he leans in, asking only for the eldest to hear. 

"Is Minseok your brother?"

Kyungsoo doesn't stop smiling when he turns around. "He is. He is my only sibling."

"You seem very fond of him.."

"And I am. I am also overprotective of him, too, like Chanyeol has pointed out too many times, but I cannot help it."

"I know that feeling.."

"Minseok is too shy sometimes. And he is credulous too. I want to give him nothing but the best, but I am also afraid of babying him too much.."

When Jongin stays quiet afterwards, Kyungsoo tears his eyes off his brother and tries to find Jongin's eyes instead. "Is this about your younger brother?"

He nods. "I miss him so much, Kyungsoo. And I don't even know where he is... I'm afraid that something might happen to him, and I'm not there to help him. I just wish to see him again."

"Jongin, look at me." When the younger does, Kyungsoo smiles, testing the waters. "Do you want to invite Jongdae here?"

"I don't know where he is, Kyungsoo. And even if I did, I don't think my mother would allow him to come and visit me."

"What if he comes to live with you?"

"... What?!"

Kyungsoo scratches his neck. "What I meant to say is that if you choose to stay here with me and... Minseok and Chanyeol and all of the others—"

"Kyungsoo, what are we talking about?"

Their eyes meet, and Jongin's on a verge of crying. So Kyungsoo cuts to the chase. "Jongdae could come to live with you.. Here."

Jongin's never stood up faster than this, that even Minseok gets scared when the newcomer jumps on Kyungsoo and hugs the life out of him. 

"Really? Like really, really?!"

"Really, Jongin. I do not mind, and I know how much you love your brother—"

But suddenly Jongin pales. ".. But I.. don't know where he is, and if he's still in the country.. How are we gonna find him?!"

Kyungsoo smiles again, offering a napkin to Minseok when the boy pulls at his sleeve, and turns to Jongin with good news. 

"Actually, your brother Jongdae is already on his way here. I made sure of that!"

🧛🧛🧛🧛🧛

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi~~ Sorry for updating this late, but life happened. Plus the news from the 1st of January set me back a bit.. But I'm back! I'm working on all of my stories, so I hope I'm not rusty yet :)
> 
> Hope you like this, and we have Minnie in the house as well! Plus, that spinning top is meaningful, so keep an eye for that! And Ji is warming up to Ksoo, gaaah!~
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, and see you in the next chapter! 
> 
> Love you, xox

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hello, my dear readers! So glad to share yet another chaptered story with you :) 
> 
> This chapter was an introduction one, of sort, so you can see the dynamics between Kim brothers, as I'll introduce Kyungsoo and his family better in the next chapter :)
> 
> I wish you like it, and stay for more! 
> 
> Love you, xox


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